4 ms·

Except that Musk has talked about how he had to work his way through college and basically didn’t benefit in any way from his dad. https://twitter.com/elonmusk

Except that Musk has talked about how he had to work his way through college and basically didn’t benefit in any way from his dad. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1211054942192119808?s=21&t=VheTOerKroAGfCerElIPsQ https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1211054942192119808?s=21...

ctvo 4y ago
I don't mean to represent that I think it's a fact, only that people are increasingly repeating it, which represents more negativity than I think Elon has received in the past. Interestingly though, it was Elon who said his family owned an emerald mine: https://web.archive.org/web/20140802011449/http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2014/07/28/elon-musk-tells-me-his-secret-of-success-hint-it-aint-about-the-money/ https://web.archive.org/web/20140802011449/http://www.forbes... That was a Forbes interview in 2014. The relevant section: > JC: How do you handle fear? > EM: Company death – not succeeding with the company – causes me a lot more stress than physical danger. But I’ve been in physical danger before. The funny thing is I’ve not actually been that nervous. In South Africa, my father had a private plane we’d fly in incredibly dangerous weather and barely make it back. This is going to sound slightly crazy, but my father also had a share in an Emerald mine in Zambia. I was 15 and really wanted to go with him but didn’t realize how dangerous it was. I couldn’t find my passport so I ended up grabbing my brother’s – which turned out to be six months overdue! So we had this planeload of contraband and an overdue passport from another person. There were AK-47s all over the place and I’m thinking, “Man, this could really go bad.” Who knows what happened between when he was 15 and 17 to his family wealth that made him essentially penniless in a foreign country. Edit: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1375212880790913025 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1375212880790913025 This is where Elon says he arrived in Canada with only ~2500 CAD.
- HarryHirsch 4y ago
  Elon says he arrived in Canada with only ~2500 CAD. He went to Canada and could rely on his family network.
- bobsmooth 4y ago
  >Who knows what happened between when he was 15 and 17 to his family wealth that made him essentially penniless in a foreign country. His estrangement from his father.
_djo_ 4y ago
While I agree that the emerald mine stuff is overblown, I don’t buy the idea that Musk was self made and independent. He didn’t always have free capital, but he seems to have a solid network through his extended family from early on that helped him. That meant he had a readily available set of investors, advisors, and partners. That ranged from Greg Kouri, pivotal in forming Zip2 and X.com, to Roelof Botha. Roelof is the grandson of Pik Botha, the last apartheid South African foreign minister who had built up extensive connections amongst the US elite. Success is so much easier when you go to knock on doors and find them already opened for you.

ctvo 4y ago

I don't mean to represent that I think it's a fact, only that people are increasingly repeating it, which represents more negativity than I think Elon has received in the past. Interestingly though, it was Elon who said his family owned an emerald mine: https://web.archive.org/web/20140802011449/http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2014/07/28/elon-musk-tells-me-his-secret-of-success-hint-it-aint-about-the-money/ https://web.archive.org/web/20140802011449/http://www.forbes... That was a Forbes interview in 2014. The relevant section: > JC: How do you handle fear? > EM: Company death – not succeeding with the company – causes me a lot more stress than physical danger. But I’ve been in physical danger before. The funny thing is I’ve not actually been that nervous. In South Africa, my father had a private plane we’d fly in incredibly dangerous weather and barely make it back. This is going to sound slightly crazy, but my father also had a share in an Emerald mine in Zambia. I was 15 and really wanted to go with him but didn’t realize how dangerous it was. I couldn’t find my passport so I ended up grabbing my brother’s – which turned out to be six months overdue! So we had this planeload of contraband and an overdue passport from another person. There were AK-47s all over the place and I’m thinking, “Man, this could really go bad.” Who knows what happened between when he was 15 and 17 to his family wealth that made him essentially penniless in a foreign country. Edit: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1375212880790913025 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1375212880790913025 This is where Elon says he arrived in Canada with only ~2500 CAD.

HarryHirsch 4y ago
Elon says he arrived in Canada with only ~2500 CAD. He went to Canada and could rely on his family network.
bobsmooth 4y ago
>Who knows what happened between when he was 15 and 17 to his family wealth that made him essentially penniless in a foreign country. His estrangement from his father.

_djo_ 4y ago

While I agree that the emerald mine stuff is overblown, I don’t buy the idea that Musk was self made and independent. He didn’t always have free capital, but he seems to have a solid network through his extended family from early on that helped him. That meant he had a readily available set of investors, advisors, and partners. That ranged from Greg Kouri, pivotal in forming Zip2 and X.com, to Roelof Botha. Roelof is the grandson of Pik Botha, the last apartheid South African foreign minister who had built up extensive connections amongst the US elite. Success is so much easier when you go to knock on doors and find them already opened for you.