The seed money he got from his father for his first business - split between him and his brother Kimbal, whom his father liked much better than him - was $28,000. After Elon and Kimbal had already raised some funds from other investors, too. Everyone seems to think Musk was born in a vast emerald-encrusted mansion. His family were by no means poor but he’s not “old money.”
Hate Elon Musk for real reasons, not made up ones.
I don’t feel the need to prove musk was born into wealth. Just look up his family and his education. The advantages of being able to take risk with other people’s money is insurmountable. Of the millions in America only fractions get access to the education musk had, connections he made, and contacts he most likely inherented. $28,000 doesn’t sound like much compared to the billions he now hoards but that is a pipe dream for most Americans and the ability to bet that on a business without fear of losing it all is the definition of privilege. Say Zip2 failed, do you honestly think he would never recover and go on to make another bet elsewhere? That’s privilage.
I agree that people tend to overstate his income due to misunderstanding his relationship with his father. And the story about him keeping emeralds in his pockets is murky at best.
But his wealth compared to the average income of any black person in South Africa in 1971, still makes him vastly better off than any ‘colored’ child born in the same country, making him institutionally old money by grace of being born white.
The seed money he got from his father for his first business - split between him and his brother Kimbal, whom his father liked much better than him - was $28,000. After Elon and Kimbal had already raised some funds from other investors, too. Everyone seems to think Musk was born in a vast emerald-encrusted mansion. His family were by no means poor but he’s not “old money.”
Hate Elon Musk for real reasons, not made up ones.
Prove it
This article on the company describes his funding sources, with citations for each claim.
Can you prove the contrary, that he was “born into wealth?”
I don’t feel the need to prove musk was born into wealth. Just look up his family and his education. The advantages of being able to take risk with other people’s money is insurmountable. Of the millions in America only fractions get access to the education musk had, connections he made, and contacts he most likely inherented. $28,000 doesn’t sound like much compared to the billions he now hoards but that is a pipe dream for most Americans and the ability to bet that on a business without fear of losing it all is the definition of privilege. Say Zip2 failed, do you honestly think he would never recover and go on to make another bet elsewhere? That’s privilage.
I agree that people tend to overstate his income due to misunderstanding his relationship with his father. And the story about him keeping emeralds in his pockets is murky at best.
But his wealth compared to the average income of any black person in South Africa in 1971, still makes him vastly better off than any ‘colored’ child born in the same country, making him institutionally old money by grace of being born white.