Science & Tech
Ellie Abraham
Apr 21, 2023
content.jwplatform.com
Billionaire Elon Musk has offered to give one million Dogecoin to anyone that can prove the internet’s emerald mine links rumour about his family.
Musk is one of the world’s richest men with a fortune of almost $300 billion, but the South African-born businessman has found himself having to fend off rumours that he was backed by generational wealth accumulated from his family owning an emerald mine.
The Twitter owner was born to an upper-middle-class family in Pretoria, though some media outlets have claimed in the past that his father, Errol, had a share in a Zambian mine.
Speaking about the rumour on Twitter, a user alleging to be a UX/UI & Graphic Designer at Dogecoin, wrote: “Elon Musk never owned an emerald mine. An open offer of 69.420 Doge to all the media outlets who are publishing false information. Send me proof of its existence & take your doge.”
Musk responded to the tweet, writing: “I will pay a million Dogecoin for proof of this mine’s existence!”
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\u201c@cb_doge @dvorahfr I will pay a million Dogecoin for proof of this mine\u2019s existence!\u201d— DogeDesigner (@DogeDesigner) 1681334605
At the time of writing, one million of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin converts to around £71,500 in GBP.
Unsurprisingly, many people tried to come up with some proof, with some bringing up a deleted Forbes interview from 2014 in which Musk allegedly mentioned the mine.
\u201c@elonmusk where\u2019s my million doge, the proof is you admitting in this deleted Forbes interview in 2014. https://t.co/VVI3FNXhGC\u201d— Ali Khalid (@Ali Khalid) 1681472767
Musk has responded to the emerald rumours in the past, explaining how he didn’t come from huge money and worked his way up.
In 2018, he tweeted: “He [Dad] didn’t own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt.
“I couldn’t even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. Where is this BS coming from?”
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