Elon Musk confronts US professor over emerald mine claim

• Elon Musk calls Robert Reich an “idiot and a liar” for claiming that self-made millionaires are a myth.
• Business tycoon is ranked as the richest person in the world by Forbes magazine’s latest list.
• Claims his family owned an emerald mine have been in the news since 2018 or even before.

Business tycoon Elon Musk, who is now ranked as the richest person in the world, attacked an American professor on Wednesday for holding the belief that “self-made millionaires are a fantasy.”

Berkeley professor Robert Reich argues that the majority of the world’s wealthiest people actually belonged to the privileged class and had financial security when they began out in a video explanation of how people regarded to be “self-made billionaires” attained this status.

He gave other instances, including those of Bill Gates, whose mother “helped Microsoft get a deal with IBM,” and Jeff Bezos, whose parents provided a “quarter-million dollar investment” for his garage firm.

One of these instances was the claim made by a US professor that Elon Musk’s family “owned an emerald mine in Apartheid South Africa.”

Elon Musk came from a family that owned an emerald mine in Apartheid South Africa.

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Bill Gates’ mom helped Microsoft get a deal with IBM.

Jeff Bezos’ garage-based start was funded by a quarter-million dollar investment from his parents.

“Self-made billionaires” are a myth. pic.twitter.com/qSpM9Zu24d

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) September 20, 2022

Musk responded to the claim with a frank tweet, labelling Reich “an idiot and a liar.”

You both an idiot and a liar

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 21, 2022

According to an Indian business journal, the story about his family owning an emerald mine has been in the news since 2018 or even before because another report made comparable claims.

Elon Musk looks to be on to something when he said in a tweet last year that “there’s no evidence whatsoever of an emerald mine” in response to such rumors.

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This article is false.
– I arrived by myself in Canada in ‘89 with ~CA$2500
– Paid my own way through college, ending with ~$100k student debt
– Started 1st company with no funding & just one computer I built
– There’s no evidence whatsoever of an “emerald mine”

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2021

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