Overview
Billionaire entrepreneur and business magnate, Elon Musk, is currently ranked among the world’s most influential and richest people. The former CEO of Tesla Motors, and founder of SpaceX, has achieved immense success and fortune in his life. But does this remarkably successful person have any siblings or brothers and sisters?
To answer this question, it is first important to understand a bit more about Elon Musk’s family background and upbringing. Elon was born to a Canadian mother, Maye Musk, and a South African father, Errol Musk. He has two younger half siblings, Kimbal Musk and Tosca Musk, both of whom follow a business career path in the technology sector, just as their older brother.
In order to delve more into the topic of Elon Musk’s siblings, it is vital to understand his actual background. To be precise, Elon is the son of a Canadian mother and a South African father who according to media outlets have now separated. From his parents’ relationship prior to their separation, Elon has two younger brothers and a younger sister – Kimbal, Tosca and brother Lyndon.
In addition to his three half-siblings, Elon also has a full brother – Greg Musk – who is the son of his mother, Maye Musk, and her first husband. Although details remain scarce on Greg, he is said to be a successful engineer in South Africa.
Early Life
Elon Musk was born in 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa to his parents, Errol Musk and Maye Musk. Forbes even reported the two were childhood sweethearts who met while they were both attending the same university in Pretoria. Errol and Maye had six children together- two sons and four daughters. After Elon, there are three of his brothers – Kimbal, Lyndon and Tosca – and two sisters – Kaye and Almeda. All of these children were reportedly raised by a wealthy and close-knit family and led a comfortable childhood.
However, it appears as though Elon had a complicated relationship with his father. When asked about him in a 2018 interview, Elon labelled his father as a “terrible human being” who was “genuinely evil”. This may account for the fact that Elon speaks less about his own siblings and family life than he does about other aspects of his life. That said, Elon is known to be close with his brother Kimbal who, just as his brother, is also a successful entrepreneur.
It is also known that Elon’s younger sister Almeda, first enrolled in the medical program at Harvard University before dropping out in order to work on a venture involving interior design. His youngest brother Lyndon, was reportedly studying software engineering at Stanford University, before teaming up with Elon in order to create their own software company.
Meanwhile, the eldest brother Greg Musk is a successful engineer in South Africa and although Elon never speaks of him publicly, the two of them have reportedly been in contact throughout the years.
Relationships with Brothers and Sisters
Despite the divide between him and his father, Elon has obviously forged a good relationship with the remainder of the Musk family. At times he has displayed the close ties he has with them and he often speaks fondly of his mother. As it is known, Elon’s mother is a incredible role model in her own right who, just like her eldest son, also works in the field of technology.
In addition, Elon has praised his brother Kimbal as an “incredible entrepreneur” and an “amazing guy”. He also co-founded his own tech-startup Zip2 in 1999, that later sold to PayPal for US$307 million – a company founded by Elon and a very close friend of the family, the late Mike Cooker.
Moreover, Elon recently tweeted about this brother Tosca, expressing his admiration for her work as an independent filmmaker and film producer. Elon has shared his sister Tosca’s accomplishments such as earning 3 Emmy Talent awards in 2016, and remembering her birthday every year.
When it comes to his brother Lyndon, Elon founded a venture together called the Musk Foundation that has been devoted to discovering and promoting renewable energy sources ever since its establishment.
Nationality and Origin
The origins of the Musk family are quite diverse. Elon’s father, Errol, is a British-born engineer of Afrikaner descent, as well as a lifelong resident of South Africa. His mother, Maye, is a first-generation American who emigrated to Canada from the United States. Elon’s siblings can trace their origins to numerous countries across the world such as South Africa, the US, the UK, and Canada.
As for their ancestry, Elon is a person of partly German and French-Canadian descent. His father was born in England to a Dutch family, while his mother is a French-Canadian native of Japanese, British and French ancestry.
The Musk family, both born in and from South Africa, have all held different citizenship statuses as well. While Errol holds permanent South African citizenship, Maye is a naturalized Canadian. Elon on the other hand, is a dual Canadian-American citizen, and his siblings have also held citizenship statuses from their respective countries of birth.
Interests and Activities
The Musk siblings have all followed their respective career paths and have had their own experience of success and failure within the technology sector. Kimber, the second-eldest brother, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and is the co-founder and CEO of OneRiot, a real-time search engine. He also started the organization Big Green, which builds edible gardens in low-income schools across the United States.
Tosca, the youngest sister, is a successful film producer and director, who has won awards for her work in independent films. She is also the founder and CEO of the film production company, Musk Entertainment.
Lyndon, the youngest sibling, is currently a software engineer at SpaceX and is said to help his brother Elon with his various undertakings.
Lastly, eldest brother Greg is also said to be a very successful engineer, though his profile remains largely obscure. Together, the Musk siblings have entered into numerous businesses and sectors in the technology world, often working together for mutual success.
Social Engagement with Siblings
Today all 6 of Elon’s siblings, or “Muskies” as they have come to be known, engage with each other online through their Twitter and Instagram accounts where they often post about their shared interests and activities. The Musk siblings collectively have thousands of followers on social media and often invite their fans to follow their work and journey in the industry.
Additionally, social media can be used to get a glimpse into how the Musk family interacts with one another. Many of the siblings follow one another on their various accounts and often post pictures of them spending time together. From what has been seen and revealed, the Musk family appears to be a close-knit family that is still connected despite the various advancements their tech-savvy siblings have made in their careers.
Impact of His Siblings
Elon’s siblings have had an interesting and intimate relationship with the world-renowned businessman. Most notably, Kimbal, who is not only a fellow tech-startup investor, but his brother’s best friend.
Through the Musk family’s entrepreneurial endeavors, the siblings have greatly benefited one another. For instance, Tosca was able to learn the ropes of the film-making industry from Elon, while Lyndon was trained by Kimbal in the tech industry.
Overall, the Musk siblings have been a great source of inspiration and strength for one another during the road to success. The Musk family’s accomplishments, though not always recognized by the media, are very real.
Philanthropy
The Musk family have also lived up to their philanthropic reputation with several of the siblings engaging in charitable causes. Kimbal, for instance, serves in an advisory capacity to the non-profit organization Rocky Mountain Institute. Similarly, Lyndon is also part of an orphanage in South Africa, and Tosca supports numerous foundations for medical research, art, environment and wellness.
As for Elon himself, many of his charitable contributions have been focused on advancing education. He donated $1 million in 2018 to bridge that gap between academia and industry by establishing the ‘Elon Musk Foundation’, which offers financial support to like-minded technology investors and has received funding from his siblings in the process.
Elon Musk’s siblings, therefore, have also been integral in pushing his work and vision forward.
Positive Core Values
The Musk siblings have worked together in harmony to create successful projects, while also preaching the importance of giving back to society. This is something they were all instilled with from a young age by their parents, the common core values of the Musk family.
As mentioned before, Elon has spoken about his mother calling her incredibly driven and smart and commending her for her accomplishments in the tech industry. Additionally, it appears as though both parents have passed on the ambition and value of dedication to their children as both parents have been incredibly successful in their respective careers.
Overall, the Musk family appears to be very close and supportive of one another despite the successes and failures of their individual paths. All of the siblings are active on social media and can often be seen spending time together and helping each other out. Their firm family values have enabled them to reach the success they have today and it will likely continue to propel them further.
