You probably don’t recognise the guy from Somerset West who is in the pic above. Hint: right now he is perhaps the proudest father on earth. Take another look. And imagine what he would have looked like, say, 30 years ago. Getting there?
I’ve enjoyed a fair bit of engagement with Errol Musk over the past couple years. Primarily to arrange an interview about his famous son’s youth in SA (yes, Elon…..); enable Errol to address some crazy allegations about the family’s history; and unpack the elder Musk’s own fascinating story – he’s a successful businessman whose pals include Investec’s founding CEO Ian Kantor; and while still in his 20s, Errol was a fiesty PFP member of the Pretoria City Council.
Unfortunately the interview hasn’t happened. Yet anyway. It’s safe to surmise that’s because his famous son’s PR machine may be reluctant to enable outspoken Errol to freewheel in public, and perhaps say something which could inadvertently wipe billions of dollars off the family fortune. A result of his son being a constant focus of the global media’s spotlight.
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Elon, meanwhile, has sailed past Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest man. And keeps grabbing global headlines. After his keynote to WSJ’s CEO Summit, he was awarded Time magazine’s Person of the Year and now, as you’ll read below, is also the FT’s sapien of 2021. The in-depth piece about the lad from Pertoria is certainly worth the investment of your time.
More for you to access today:
* Reddit Files Confidentially for IPO. Social-media company says in blog post it filed paperwork with SEC to go public
* The Fox guarding Interpol’s henhouse. You have to wonder what the heck is happening at some multilaterals. The WHO seems far too close to China. And Interpol’s has appointed as president the man directly responsible for keeping the Guptas comfortable in Dubai. Shades of Jackie Selebi?
* Engineering victory with Elon with Dan Carlin. Elon Musk and Bill Riley from SpaceX join Hardcore History’s host to discuss the underappreciated role of science and engineering in war. As you might imagine, military aircraft feature prominently in the conversation.
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