Only @elonmusk can confirm this myth about emerald mines
The myth began with an interview his father Errol gave to Business Insider South Africa in 2018, in which he relayed a story about once trading an old plane for some cash and a share in a Zambian emerald deposit.
But there were problems with the story:
- None of it was corroborated
- The quantity of wealth that came from the supposed emerald flow was never quantified
- The journalist suggested a direct link between the emeralds, the family’s overall wealth, and Elon’s later success
One of the resulting articles had a US headline that claimed the family still owned the mine (despite there never having been formal ownership, despite any emerald supply having died out some 30 years prior, and despite Elon and his father being quite famously estranged)
That story then mutated into a myth that grew to include the idea of apartheid or “blood emeralds”, despite Zambia (i) not being a conflict gem country, (ii) having been a regional ringleader of anti-apartheid activity at the time. @elonmusk 's success has nothing to do with it
Megan
@thetechiemegan
Data Scientist | Investor | Stocks Crypto | Software Engineer | Believer in "The first 5 days after weekend are always the hardest" | No financial advice |
