[imagesource:instagram/toscamusk]

Although it’s often suggested that your genes may hinder your progress, could they truly propel you all the way to the moon and back?

That’s what Elon Musk’s sister, Tosca Musk, believes, anyway.

In a 2012 Esquire feature on the billionaire businessman, his sister confesses that she wasn’t shocked to see such a luminary emerge from their family.

“The Musks were a race nearly as much as they were a family, with a specialized awareness of themselves as wanderers and adventurers,” notes the writer, adding that each member of the Musk family can recount the tales of ancestors whose achievements serve as a source of inspiration and whose vitality persists as a legacy.

These stories include a grandfather who triumphed in a 10,000-kilometre motor race from Cape Town to Algiers – running from the bottom of Africa to the top, a great-grandmother who held the distinction of being the first female chiropractor in Canada, and grandparents who achieved the remarkable feat of being the first to fly from South Africa to Australia in a single-engine plane.

“Without sounding patronizing, it does seem that our family is different from other people,” says Elon’s sister, Tosca Musk. “We risk more.”

But even in such an accomplished family, it was obvious that Elon was above and beyond any other Musk.

“I have two brilliant children, but Elon’s a genius,” his mother, Maye Musk (an accomplished fashion model herself), told Esquire. “I can explain Tosca and [Elon’s brother] Kimbal pretty well. I can’t explain Elon.”

…According to Maye, they knew their oldest child was “advanced from the very beginning.” He read continually, read not simply to amuse himself but to acquire knowledge, so they sent him to school early in Pretoria.

During his 52-year journey on Earth (and potentially soon on Mars and/or the moon), Elon Musk has successfully sold two businesses for substantial amounts, played pivotal roles in the development of Tesla and SpaceX, and made acquisitions like X (formerly Twitter). To add to his achievements, he casually holds the position of the second-richest person globally, boasting a net worth of $180 billion, as reported by Forbes.

So it’s in the risk factor, according to Tosca (pictured up top, who walks this planet as a successful South African filmmaker), which is something that another of Musk’s loved ones agrees on:

“Elon is not afraid of breaking things — he will break himself if he has to,” says Justine Musk, his first wife.

The will to break things and take risks are all contributors to Musks’ great influence and wealth, sure. But I have a feeling it also has to do with that extensive family financial support system and safety net that allows Elon to soar and fall however many times he needs to before he finally gets to outer space.

[source:moneywise&esquire]