Did Elon Musk grow up rich in South Africa?

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has often claimed to be a self-made businessman. However, many South Africans and Americans are calling out the Pretoria-born man for his wealthy, “white privilege” upbringing.

ELON MUSK CLAIMS HE LIVED IN ‘LOWER TO MIDDLE INCOME’ HOUSEHOLD

In a tweet posted in 2023, Elon Musk credited his father, Errol, an engineer and property developer, with teaching him the “fundamentals of physics, engineering, and construction.” However, he implied that his success was self-made, as he did not receive any financial assistance from his family.

He tweeted: “I grew up in a lower, transitioning to upper, middle-income situation, but did not have a happy childhood. Haven’t inherited anything ever from anyone, nor has anyone given me a large financial gift.”

Elon Musk left South Africa in 1988 at the age of 17 “with just a backpack and suitcase of books.”

He moved to Canada to pursue his studies, taking out over $100 000 (R1,8 million) in student loans. Elon later settled in the US, where he set up successful businesses such as Tesla, SpaceX, and PayPal. 

In 2022, Elon bought the social media platform Twitter, which he renamed X, for a whopping $44 billion.

DAD SAYS OTHERWISE

Speaking to Podcast & Chill’s MacG [real name Macgyver Mukwevho], Elon Musk’s father attempted to set the record straight on many misconceptions about his famous son.

The first one was that Elon had a “falling out” with his father in 2016 over the latter’s support for Donald Trump. At the time, Elon – who became a naturalised US citizen in 2002 – considered himself a Democrat. The tables have since turned, and Elon is now considered Trump’s right-hand man.

Also, in the interview, Errol claimed that Elon and his other two children, Kimbal and Tosca, grew up in a comfortable and affluent environment.

This included:

• Trips on private jets and luxury vehicles.
• Access to wads of cash stored in their father’s safe.
• Living in mansions in Sandton, Pretoria, and Durban.

At the time, Errol was an in-demand property developer and accumulated many assets like cars, homes and even a private jet as a young man.

Errol also claimed that Elon “lied” about his knowledge that his father sold emeralds on the black market.

When asked why Elon Musk distanced himself from claims his family had a share in Zambian emerald mines, Errol casually said: “He had an axe to grind.”

He added: “Elon came up to the mine with me; he was there, so he knows very well.  He was once in New York, and he took some stones to Tiffany’s”.

Errol added: “Elon knows all about the emeralds. It’s just because he wants to tell the people in America that he had a hard time”.

WAS ELON MUSK BORN INTO WEALTH?

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