Errol Musk's net worth in 2025: How rich is Elon Musk's father?

Errol Musk's net worth is estimated to be around $5 million, although the true extent of his wealth has been disputed by his son, Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO has denied multiple times that he grew up rich, despite his father telling Business Insider in 2018:

We were very wealthy. We had so much money at times we couldn't even close our safe.

Key takeaways

• Errol built his life in South Africa as a professional engineer, emerald trader, and politician during the apartheid regime.
• He has publicly disagreed with his eldest son, Elon, about the amount of his wealth after the SpaceX founder revealed they were not even middle-class when he was growing up.
• Errol's claim that he owned part of a Zambian emerald mine has been disputed.

Errol Musk's profile summary

Errol Musk's net worth before Elon Musk's multi-billion-dollar empire 

The Musk family patriarch was reportedly a millionaire before he was 30. Errol has claimed in multiple interviews that he was rich before Elon became the richest man on the planet. During his January 2025 appearance on The Ahmad Mahmood Show in Dubai, he shared that he owned an aircraft by 24 and took the Tesla CEO to school in a Rolls-Royce Corniche. 

Elon refuted the claims regarding Errol Musk's wealth in a May 2023 X (Twitter) post. The SpaceX founder said his father never helped him financially past high school and that he and his brother, Kimbal, had been supporting him financially after his small business fell on hard times.

I grew up in a lower, transitioning to upper, middle-income situation, but did not have a happy childhood. Haven't inherited anything ever from anyone, nor has anyone given me a large financial gift.

Errol Musk's disputed Emerald Mine trade

The Musk family patriarch previously said that he owned half of an emerald mine in Zambia, but Elon Musk has labelled the claims as false. While responding to an X (Twitter) user in December 2019, the SpaceX founder wrote:

He didn't own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up with ~$100k in student debt. I couldn't even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2.

Walter Isaac confirmed Elon Musk's story in a 2023 biography of the Tesla founder. The author reportedly interviewed Errol, who shared that in 1986, he sold his light plane to a businessman who agreed to exchange it for some emeralds from the entrepreneur's unregistered mine in Zambia.

Errol used to import raw emeralds to South Africa and cut them in Johannesburg. The emerald business collapsed by the late 1980s, according to Walter. While talking to The Sun in July 2023, Errol maintained that the mine existed, although in an informal setting and that he used the proceeds to send Elon and his brother Kimbal Musk to study in the US.

Errol's engineering career

Errol started his career as an electromechanical engineer after graduating from the University of Pretoria with an Electromagnetic Engineering degree. His projects included office buildings, retail complexes, residential subdivisions, and an air force base. Elon Musk has publicly praised his father for being an excellent engineer despite their strained relationship. He told Rolling Stone in 2017: 

I'm naturally good at engineering, that's because I inherited it from my father.

Errol Musk had a brief political career

The engineer served on the Pretoria City Council for over a decade, from 1972 to 1983. He was elected as an independent candidate, but he later joined the Progressive Federal Party (later became the Democratic Alliance) in 1980.

Elon Musk's father told the New York Times in 2022 that he was opposed to the apartheid regime as part of the Progressive Party, although he left in 1983. He also shared that his children did not like the country's governance rules at the time.

Errol Musk's real estate portfolio

Elon Musk's father reportedly owned his first home in Pretoria at 26, where the Tesla CEO and his siblings grew up. He revealed on The Ahmad Mahmood Show in January 2025 that the mansion is now being utilised by the European Union ambassador to South Africa.

Errol now lives in the picturesque Langebaan in the Western Cape. He told The Sun in January 2023 that Elon had invested in first-class security at the home amid kidnapping fears. 

He decided, after the recent threats against him, that I needed protection as well. If they kidnap one of us, it will be the quickest $20 million anybody's ever made in their life.

Errol on his love for South Africa

The Musk patriarch has lived in South Africa his entire life (born in Pretoria in 1946). In November 2024, he appeared on MacG's Podcast and Chill, where he said there is no better place to live than Mzansi. 

To me South Africa is probably one of the better places to be in the world. Everything is here. You don't miss anything here. Anything you want you can get it in South Africa...I go away quite a lot but quite frankly, I don't find a place where you get better food, better people. 

Is Elon Musk's brother a billionaire? 

Elon Musk's younger brother, Kimbal, has yet to reach the Forbes billionaire list, but he is still wealthy. His net worth in 2025 is estimated to be $500 million. Kimbal is a chef and entrepreneur. He co-owns The Kitchen Restaurant Group, Big Green, and Square Roots. He previously co-owned Zip2 with Elon Musk and has served on the boards of Tesla, SpaceX, and Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Errol Musk's net worth has not soared like that of his sons, but he helped raise successful children, at least career-wise. The patriarch's controversial history and complicated family relationships continue to dominate news headlines. 

READ ALSO: Maye Musk's net worth

Briefly.co.za published the biography of Elon Musk's mother, Maye Musk. She is a Canadian-born model, dietitian, businesswoman, and author.

Maye was married to Errol Musk for about nine years until their divorce in 1979. The couple welcomed three children, including Elon and his siblings, Kimbal and Tosca Musk.

Source: Briefly News