Elon Musk says he and his brother have bankrolled their father since he ‘ran out of money in the 90s’
Billionaire Elon Musk revealed he and his brother, Kimbal, have footed the bill for their father’s life in South Africa ever since he “ran out of money in the 90s.”
“My brother & I financially supported him & his extended family in South Africa since then on condition that he not do bad things,” Musk tweeted Wednesday. “Unfortunately, he did do bad things.”
Elon Musk on Aug. 29, 2022. (CARINA JOHANSEN/)
While the Tesla CEO did not elaborate on his father, Errol’s “bad” behaviors, the tweet does echo comments he made during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2017.
“He was such a terrible human being,” he told the magazine.
“My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil,” Musk said at the time. “He will plan evil.”
Errol Musk, the father of tech billionaire Elon Musk, at his house in South Africa on May 26, 2022. (GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/)
Musk’s comments on Wednesday came in response to a tweet from Robert Reich, a UC Berkeley academic and former Labor Secretary, arguing that “‘self-made billionaires’ are a myth.’” Reich specifically named the SpaceX founder along with a couple more of the world’s wealthiest and how they relied on family to launch their business ventures.
“Elon Musk came from a family that owned an emerald mine in Apartheid South Africa. Bill Gates’ mom helped Microsoft get a deal with IBM. Jeff Bezos’ garage-based start was funded by a quarter-million dollar investment from his parents. ‘Self-made billionaires’ are a myth,’” Reich wrote.
“The origins of self-made billionaires are often depicted as a ‘rags-to-riches’ rise to the top fueled by nothing but personal grit and the courage to take risks — like dropping out of college or starting a business in a garage,” he continued. “But in reality, the origins of many billionaires aren’t so humble.”
Musk fired back: “You both an idiot and a liar.”
The world’s richest man also responded with a link to a Substack post written by Jeremy Arnold, disproving claims that he grew up wealthy because of a family stake in an emerald mine.
Errol Musk in 2018 told Business Insider Africa that he owned a half share of the mine. His son a short time later told the news outlet he was unsure about stake ownership, but recalled “seeing a small jewel box of low-quality emeralds in his youth.” Musk later took aim at the emerald mine theory in a series of tweets in December 2019.
“He didn’t own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt,” Musk said. “I couldn’t even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. Where is this bs coming from?”
