Elon Musk, the world’s second richest person, who owns companies such as Twitter, Tesla, and SpaceX opened up on his childhood and shared in brief details about his family. Musk addressed a controversy surrounding his family background as some claims were made that he belong from a rich family with a silver spoon and his father owned an emerald mine in South Africa.
Twitter CEO, Musk, countered these claims by stating that he did not come from a particular wealthy family and he acknowledged that he ‘did not have a happy childhood’.
The CEO, whose present net worth is estimated at $178.2 Billion, revealed that he has never received anything in inheritance, not even a large financial gift.
Advertisement
Musk responded to a tweet by Deborah who mentioned, “Even having a wealthy family, a student can have a lot of financial difficulties. On the other hand, the cited source is not reliable at all”.
Reacting to the controversy, the CEO of SpaceX penned a detailed note stating, “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.”
Musk added that his father Errol Musk, never supported him financially after high school in ‘any meaningful way’. He further clarified that his father ran a small electrical/mechanical engineering company which was successful for up to 25-30 years but later faced financial difficulties, causing him to be essentially bankrupt for about 25 years, requiring financial support from Musk and his younger brother.
Advertisement
Regarding the emerald mine controversy, Musk stated that the mine in question did not have any evidence of existence. “He told me that he owned a share in a mine in Zambia, and I believed him for a while, but nobody has ever seen the mine, nor are there any records of its existence. If this mine was real, he would not require financial support from my brother and me,” he explained.
Despite this, Musk acknowledged his father’s role in teaching him the fundamentals of physics, engineering, and construction, which he believed were more valuable than money.
