Mae Musk: "As I raised the main entrepreneur of the world" The road to success billionaires mother

She is now 68 years old, and it is more in demand than other young model and starred in campaigns such big brands like Clinique and Revlon. In addition, Mei Musk - a well-known nutritionist, she lectures on healthy eating throughout the world and has published a book Feel Fantastic. And it was she - the mother of three children and grandmother of ten grandchildren. Her youngest son Kimball owns a chain of restaurants The Kitchen, her daughter Tosca - Hollywood director and producer, well, second son Ilon - one of the most well-known entrepreneurs of the world. It seems that the success - it is granted for Mae and her children, but the road to it was thorny

. Five works in
overnight He may start her modeling career at age 15, and since then she has not stopped working: "I had to study hard to prove that I am not stupid, because this is how many are accustomed to think of models". Mei everywhere carried a book and kept the habit of constantly reading - even a bicycle while training

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In 1989, together with the children, she moved from South Africa to Canada, in Toronto. To somehow make ends meet, Mei has worked simultaneously on five papers. She settled in the University of Toronto, the children were taught free of charge, led model courses and workshops on healthy eating, as well as a nutritionist worked. Children are also not idle: Longing after school worked in a shop, and mother Ilona helped settle at Microsoft, where her husband worked as colleagues. "The first thing we did when I received a salary - it bought the carpet on the floor to sit on it. There was no furniture, we did not - says Mei. - And with the next bought Ilona computer. So he sat at the computer on the floor. »

Secrets to Training
children "My children know me as a person who worked very hard. They themselves workaholics "- says Musk. She had never read them lecturing, but by example showed how not an easy path to success. At the same time, Mei says that their success - fully to their credit, but not her, "I've never helped my children. I have too much hard work, they all have

themselves. "

In 1995, Elon and Kimball started software company Zip2. Mei maintained a desire sons to become successful entrepreneurs, "Kimball came to me to discuss the business with Ilona on the phone. When I saw the phone bill of $ 800 per month, I told him to give up work and flew to Silicon Valley. " Every six weeks, she visited the children and tried to help them with the business, including helping prepare a business plan, and once even made with them a presentation to investors before two o'clock in the morning: "We were so tired that day, that when we went then to best restaurant in Palo Alto, I said. "This is the last time I pay for our dinner" C Since then I really never paid for them. »

Mom investor
In 1996, Musk has invested all his savings - $ 10,000 - to the company sons Zip2, so that they can pay for office rent, and other necessities. In 1999, the company bought the software manufacturer Compaq for $ 307 million, Ilona earned $ 22 million. Mae jokes that it was her best investment.

Children Musk achieved much. Kimball developed eight restaurants The Kitchen, in addition, he is on the board of Tesla Motors company, SpaceX, and fast network Chipotle Mexican Grill. He launched the project "Educational Gardens» Learning Gardens 200 schools for the poor in the United States, where children can grow fruit and vegetables and take them home. Tosca makes a film, which is soon to appear on the screens. But Elon Musk is known as a successful engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and investor, billionaire and founder of SpaceX companies and X.com



About his son, who makes a revolution in the world of technology, Mei said: "I was a botanist, and Elon - superbotanik. I told him once said that in my class there was no one who knew mathematics better than me. And he laughed, because he knew the math is even better than I do. " Most of all she wanted her children to learn to work hard, because the work is, in its view, makes a person happy and does not get old, "The more you work, the more successful you become»

. When Mae was 50 years old, her children still do not have the money for expensive gifts, and not too expensive. Instead, they gave her a promise: "They gave me a little toy house and a small toy car the size of a matchbox, and said," Someday we'll buy you a present. " And, of course, they kept their promise.



Asked Huffington Post about what Elon learned from her mother, she said: "I hope that he borrowed my outlook on life." According to her, Ilona does not need a yacht and expensive things, because he lived in difficult economic conditions: "The purpose of Ilona - use physics knowledge to make this world a better place. People think that it is driven by selfish motive. But this is not the case. And I was very upset when people talk about her son: "Oh, he just wants to earn more." No, the money has never been important to him. He is obsessed with his idea. »

According to the materials and businessinsider.com huffingtonpost.com