Derek Hanekom dragged for suggesting Elon Musk should invest in 'the land of his birth'

Elon Musk's riches and global business success have seen ANC stalwart Derek Hanekom catching smoke, after Hanekom's suggestion that the billionaire should invest in “the land of his birth”. 

Hanekom was commenting on the news that Pretoria-born Musk was now the second-richest person in the world, after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

He said though the news of Musk's riches was great, it would be wonderful if he shared some of his wealth with SA.

“Of course we celebrate his success. Now wouldn't it be wonderful if he ploughs back some of that wealth into the land of his birth,” said Hanekom.

Hanekom's comment was quickly met with salt by many on social media, including DA MP Cameron MacKenzie.

MacKenzie said Hanekom's “the land of his birth” statement was “troubling”.

He said Hanekom was usually quiet when white people were told they are “settlers”.

“Trouble is, Derek Hanekom, we've got your party, CR [Cyril Ramaphosa] and crowds of demagogues telling 'whites' they're settlers, land thieves, must go back to Europe, etc. And you are silent. You can't have it both ways,” said MacKenzie.

While Hanekom is yet to respond to MacKenzie, he replied to a tweet from investment strategist at Brenthurst Wealth, Magnus Heystek, about Musk not being “stupid” enough to invest in SA.

How rich is Elon Musk? 

Musk is now worth $136bn (about R2.07-trillion). His net worth jumped by $7.7bn (R117bn) after shares in his car firm Tesla surged.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk surpassed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.