CEO Elon Musk said his father Errol ran out of money in the '90s and was provided financial support by the entrepreneur and his brother. Below we have provided a small sampling of the many different ways the rumor has been framed in past years. I can't see any reason not to. In an interview with Express, Cattrell recalled: One night, they were sitting in the living room and his dad said Everybody down! Rolling Stone reported in 2017 that Errol was, by his own account, making money in the often dangerous worlds of construction and emerald mining at times so much that he claims he couldnt close his safe.. Errol himself has an adventurous streak and is an avid sailor and pilot. In his interview with Business Insider South Africa, Errol said that he was to blame for his divorce from model Maye Musk, with whom he shares Elon, Kimbal and Tosca. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. A teenage Elon Musk once casually sold his father's - Businessinsider People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. There was a shooting in the living room, and I guess his father shot them dead. There were AK-47s all over the place and I'm thinking, "Man, this could really go bad.". Errol and a co-pilot were flying a plane from South Africa to England to sell the aircraft but when they couldn't make a scheduled stop in Saudi Arabia, he pivoted his plan and changed his life. Musk's revelation about his father's financial situation in the '90s comes after a Berkeley professor and former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, claimed on Twitter that 'self-made billionaires' are a myth and Musk came from a family that owned an emerald mine in Apartheid South Africa. Our offices are for administrative purposes only, no visitors will be accepted without an appointment. The Associated Press, 20 July 2021, https://apnews.com/article/business-science-3546262d41f4c84763aa15339f642a5a. Get to Know Errol Musk, Elon's "Brilliant," "Terrible" Father - MSN He once tweeted he arrived in 1989, not 1988, however. R/EnoughMuskSpam via Reddit.com, 5 Dec. 2019, www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/e6j76f/his_family_stole_an_emerald_mine/. What We Know About Elon Musk and the Emerald Mine Rumor In April 2014, Dana Hull and Patrick May penned an article for San Jose's The Mercury News with the headline, "The otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk." Clearly, Elon Musk doesn't like being mocked. I tried threats, rewards, intellectual arguments, emotional arguments, everything to try to change my father for the better, and he no way, it just got worse., Errol subsequently told the publication in an email: Ive been accused of being a Gay, a Misogynist, a Paedophile, a Traitor, a Rat, a St (quite often), a Bastard (by many women whose attentions I did not return) and much more. Errol owned one of the largest homes in Pretoria and took his children on many overseas trips, according to the book, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, written by Ashlee Vance. https://web.archive.org/. Errol named his price, and a deal was done. By Michael Hein Errol Musk's Emerald Mine (@ErrolsEmeralds) / Twitter He was bullied at school. The Save Journalism Committee, 9 Mar. My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" The Buffalo News via San Jose Mercury News via Newspapers.com, 20 Apr. The article was titled, "I Talked to Elon Musk about Journalism and the Blood Emeralds Story.". Errol Musk is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. ", She added, "He was very rich, but he made sure I had nothing. According to media reports Errol reportedly owned an emerald mine in Zambia near Lake Tanganyika which enabled his family to live in luxury at the time. Copyright 2023 PopCulture.com. Black Americans Have the Highest Mortality Rates But Lowest Levels of Life Insurance If I could have another child I would. Instead, they focus on describing how hard he worked in his teenage years and early adulthood, how much debt he accrued by attending college and his disdain for his father. [20] At the time of their daughter's birth, according to The Times, Musk was 72 and Jana Bezuidenhout was 30 years old. While he has given a few rare interviews, much of the publicly known information about him has come from his estranged son Elon or his ex-wife Maye Musk, neither of whom have had complimentary things to say about the engineer and onetime emerald mine owner. I was 15 and really wanted to go with him but didn't realize how dangerous it was. Elon Musk said he and his brother have supported their father since he "ran out of money in 90s." He was reacting to a tweet saying he was from a family that owned an African emerald mine.. We went to this guys prefab, and he opened his safe, and there [were] just stacks of money, and he paid me out 80,000, It was a huge amount of money, he said. "We were going to fly into Jeddah and there was a religious holiday, and they said if we come in now we have to pay $2,000, but if we wait 10 days we can come in at no charge," he recalled to Business Insider. "There was just stacks of money and he paid me out, 80,000, it was a huge amount of money." - February 10, 2021 02:34 pm EST. Arnold's story included answers from Errol about the mine, who said he had "very limited involvement" in it. In addition, they offered Errol a chance to buy partial ownership of a Zambian emerald mine. Musk's critics often paraphrase the story on social media, who accuse him not only of benefitting from wealth rather than genius but of indirectly profiting from Apartheid. And then thered still be all these notes sticking out, and wed sort of pull them out and put them in our pockets.. Musk's father said that Tiffanys set the $800 emerald in a ring and offered it for $24,000, which he said was an object lesson in retail markup for the family. You could tell by the way that he told the story. Bloomberg.com, 22 May 2020. www.bloomberg.com, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-05-22/elon-musk-speaks-frankly-on-coronavirus-spacex-and-rage-tweets. "He didn't own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt," Elon tweeted in December 2019. The Twitter account no longer exists. Address: Regus Business Centre 1st Floor, Block B, North Park, Black River Park, 2 Fir Street, Observatory, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa Postal: Blue Sky Publications (Pty) Ltd T/A TheSouthAfrican, PO Box 44354, Claremont, 7735, South Africa, United Kingdom Blue Sky Publications Ltd Company Registration Number: 04683692. Elon Musk: The Truth About His Dad and Emerald Mines, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Should Remain On-Air Couple After ABC Exit, According to TV Host, King Charles' Reported Reason for Evicting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Revealed, Hoda Kotb Makes Brief 'Today Show' Appearance Amid Family Health Matter, 'Creed III': Why Sylvester Stallone and Rocky Balboa Are Missing From Latest Film, Disney World Brings Back 'Beauty & the Beast' Experience for First Time Since COVID-19 Pandemic Began, QVC Hosts Call it Quits After Nearly 20 Years, Florida Residents Urged to Use Caution With Tap Water After Man Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba. I couldn't even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. We reached out to Reich to ask if he could provide evidence of his assertion, but did not receive a response before this story was published. I said, Oh, all right. And, on at least one occasion, his now famous son also took his hand at dealing in the gems, with peculiar results. [10] She gave birth to three children; Elon Reeve Musk born on 28 June 1971, Kimbal Reeve Musk born on 20 September 1972, and Tosca Musk born on 20 July 1974. "[4][8], In 1972, he was elected to the Pretoria City Council as a representative of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party. Bridges to Italy tweeted, Yeah, hes not that bright, just like the guy who started this thread. . The tweet was shared as a screenshot on Imgur.com, which showed the image had been viewed more than 300,000 times. Musk had earlier slammed Reich for misrepresenting his background in the post, which argued that "self-made billionaires are a myth" and named the SpaceX founder and other prominent business. His mother Maye responded on Twitter in December 2019 in defense of Elon. The claim attracted a response from the billionaire, who said that the claim isn't true. I wish. Elon Musks family wealth has once again resurfaced as a talking point. The billionaire, who was born in South Africa, took to Twitter to answer claims made by The Onion about how his family made their money in apartheid South Africa. Errol Musk - Wikipedia "Elon Musk Tells Me His Secret Of Success (Hint: It Ain't About The Money)." Vance, Ashlee. ERROL IS A RETIRED SOUTH AFRICAN ENGINEER. Errol and Heide had two children together, Alexandra and Asha Rose. Elon Musk (~16 years old) & Kimbal Musk sold gems from the Zambian emerald mine to world-famous "Tiffany & Co." on Fifth Avenue in New York - one of the world's most famous jewelers. Errol and Jana welcomed a son, Elliot "Rushi" Rush, in 2017 and a daughter in 2019. 1/2This article is false. I tried threats, rewards, intellectual arguments, emotional arguments, everything to try to change my father for the better, and he no way, it just got worse. Journalism strengthens democracy. "So I became a half-owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years," Errol said. Born in 1971, Musk grew up in Pretoria, South Africa. And we spent three weeks making our rent-controlled apartment livable in Toronto, Maye tweeted. Shame on you, Onion. Elon and Kimbal allegedly sold 2 emeralds: one worth $800 and another worth $1200. The story included reporting of Elon's denials that the emerald mine had provided any seed money for the wealth he would later accumulate. Elon Musk addresses emerald mines and apartheid claims - The South African Errol Musk said he bought half of an emerald mine after selling a plane. Errol and his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, share two children. Although Musk said that his father was brilliant at engineering in the Rolling Stone interview, thats where the praise ended. Elon Musk, After Emerald Mine Twitter Spat, Says Father Errol Ran Out Once the kids were living with me, they visited their father some weekends. Market Realist is a registered trademark. Where is this bs coming from?" The way Errol tells it, that all started with an inconvenient religious holiday. Errol Musk Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements According to Ashlee Vances 2017 biography of the Tesla founder, The Musk family owned one of the biggest houses in Pretoria thanks to the success of Errols engineering business, which included large projects such as office buildings, retail complexes, residential subdivisions, and an air force base.. Like his son, the wealthy business owner who was once rumored to be the co-owner of a Zambian emerald mine has also been mired in controversy. Hull, Dana, and Patrick May. "I started my first company with $2,500, and I had one computer and a car that I bought for $1,400, and all that debt. [14], Musk was married to Heide Bezuidenhout for eighteen years and helped her raise her young daughter Jana Bezuidenhout, a child from a previous relationship. In 2017, Errol told Rolling Stone that while he has never intentionally hurt or threatened anyone, he once shot and killed a group of burglars at his home in Johannesburg, though he says he was cleared of all charges because he acted in self-defense. Jump to Main content Search Account Menu icon A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal. But I didnt really understand at the time what kind of person he was. By some accounts, Elon is reported to have witnessed the attack, with Errol later telling Rolling Stone that he acted in self-defense; he was never convicted of any crime. I arrived by myself in Canada in 89 with ~CA$2500 Paid my own way through college, ending with ~$100k student debt Started 1st company with no funding & just one computer I built Theres no evidence whatsoever of an emerald mine, 2/2My father & his extended family have been dependent on financial support from my brother & me for over 20 years. [13] After engaging in extra-marital affairs,[4] Errol and Maye divorced in 1979, and both sons moved in with their father. . Though Errol has made headlines in recent years after the births of his two youngest children, he seemingly avoids the spotlight. Ashlee Vance interviewed hundreds of people. The 51-year-old has refuted claims that he grew up rich amid statements that his father Errol owned an emerald mine in South Africa. Errol talked about Elons fascination with computers when they first came out in the mid-80s, during an interview on radio station 702 in Johannesburg, as reported by Forbes. Errol Musk (born 1946) is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, and property developer who was once a co-owner of a Zambian emerald mine near Lake Tanganyika . luis carruthers @orthereaboot tweeted, When the same pattern of racist behavior happens at all $tsla locations, its the company thats racist, and the fish rots from @elonmusks head.. Elon Musk sets record straight on emerald mine and - TESLARATI The 51-year-old has refuted claims that he grew up rich amid statements that his father Errol owned an emerald mine in . While in Djibouti, he and his co-pilot sold their plane to some Italian nationals. Jain, Sanya. Errol and Heide eventually divorced after an 18-year marriage. We had so much money at times we couldn't even close our safe," Errol said, explaining that one person would hold the money down while a second would slam the safe door shut.