By A resurfaced interview with Erol Musk, father of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, has ignited controversy over the origins of the Tesla CEO’s early wealth suggesting ties to an unregistered emerald mine in Zimbabwe.
In a surprising admission during a candid conversation with a South African podcaster, Erol Musk claimed he once received rough emeralds from a Zimbabwean mine and that a young Elon had visited the site with him directly contradicting Elon Musk’s repeated denials of any connection to such ventures.
“No, I never owned a mine,” Erol Musk said. “But I received rough [emeralds] from a mine called Katanga mine in Zimbabwe, from the people that I did the deal with the airplane. Elon came up to the mine with me. He was at the mine, yeah, so he knows very well.”
Elon Musk has previously dismissed reports of a family connection to emerald mining. In a 2019 tweet, he wrote: “We had no money, I had to work my way through college, ending up with $100,000 in student debt. My dad didn’t own an emerald mine.”
However, the elder Musk’s comments tell a different story. While he maintains he never “owned” a mine, he describes regularly receiving emeralds and selling them abroad in an apparently informal capacity:
“I used to go overseas, take a few stones with me, and then take them to the good jewelers, and then say, ‘Would you like to buy these stones?’ Because I sold them very cheaply.”
The mine in question, referred to as “Katanga,” does not appear in official Zimbabwean mining records or public registries—raising serious concerns about the legality of its operations. If transactions involving these stones occurred without proper oversight or export declarations, they could potentially violate international trade laws and sanctions surrounding conflict resources.
Zimbabwe’s emerald sector, especially during the 1980s and 1990s—the era referenced by Erol Musk—has long been associated with murky ownership structures, smuggling, and labor exploitation. Transparency organizations and global watchdogs have frequently flagged the country’s gemstone trade as ripe for abuse and illicit enrichment.
The implications are far-reaching. Elon Musk, whose public persona is rooted in a rags-to-riches narrative, could face renewed scrutiny if further evidence ties his early financial footing to proceeds from unregulated or illegal gemstone transactions.
At the time of publication, neither Elon Musk nor his representatives have responded to multiple requests for comment.
Meanwhile, analysts and legal experts are calling for a closer investigation into the Musk family’s alleged involvement in Zimbabwe’s controversial emerald trade.
“If true, this casts a long shadow over the myth of the self-made billionaire,” one global anti-corruption analyst told us. “It’s not just about where the money came from—it’s about transparency, legality, and ethics.”
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