Kimbal Musk facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kimbal Musk
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Musk in 2013
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Kimbal James Musk
20 September 1972 Pretoria, South Africa
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| Alma mater | Queen's University |
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| Children | 3 |
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| Relatives | Musk family |
Kimbal James Musk (born 20 September 1972) is a successful businessman and restaurateur. He is known for co-owning The Kitchen Restaurant Group, which has restaurants in Colorado, Chicago, and Austin. Kimbal is also a big supporter of healthy food and education.
He co-founded and chairs Big Green, a non-profit organization. This group builds special outdoor classrooms called Learning Gardens at schools across the United States. These gardens help kids learn about food and healthy eating. Kimbal also co-founded Square Roots, a company that grows food in special indoor farms using shipping containers. He is on the boards of companies like Tesla Inc. and SpaceX. His older brother, Elon Musk, is the CEO of these two companies.
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Kimbal Musk's Early Life
Kimbal Musk grew up in South Africa with his older brother, Elon, and younger sister, Tosca. Their mother, Maye Musk, was a model and dietitian. Their father, Errol Musk, was an engineer and property developer.
After finishing high school in Pretoria, South Africa, Kimbal moved to Kingston, Canada. He joined his brother and studied business at Queen's University. While at university, he also worked at a bank. He earned his degree from Queen's University in 1995.
Kimbal Musk's Business Ventures
Kimbal Musk started his first business in 1994, painting houses. In the same year, he and his brother Elon started their second company, Zip2.
Starting Zip2 and Other Investments
Zip2 was an online guide for cities. It provided content for early online versions of newspapers like The New York Times. In 1999, Zip2 was sold to Compaq for $307 million.
After selling Zip2, Kimbal invested in several new technology companies. He was an early investor in his brother's company, X.com. This company later merged with another to become PayPal. PayPal was then bought by eBay in 2002.
Becoming a Restaurateur
While Elon stayed in California, Kimbal moved to New York City. He studied cooking at the French Culinary Institute. In 2004, Kimbal opened his first restaurant, The Kitchen, in Boulder, Colorado. He started it with Jen Lewin and Hugo Matheson. The Kitchen now has locations in Denver and Chicago.
From 2006 to 2011, Kimbal was the CEO of OneRiot, an advertising network. This company was later bought by Walmart-Labs in 2011. In 2011, he also opened Next Door American Eatery. This is a fast-casual restaurant with several locations.
Helping Communities with Food and Gardens
Kimbal Musk is passionate about connecting children to healthy food. In 2011, he and Hugo Matheson started Big Green. This non-profit organization was first called The Kitchen Community. Big Green builds Learning Gardens at schools across America. These gardens are outdoor classrooms. They help children learn about food, healthy eating, and the environment. The lessons in the gardens connect to school subjects like math and science.
The Kitchen restaurants donate a part of their sales to help build these Learning Gardens. By 2015, Big Green had built 260 Learning Gardens in cities like Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles. In 2018, Big Green expanded to Detroit. As of 2019, Big Green had nearly 600 gardens in seven American cities. These gardens help over 300,000 students every day. Kimbal and Big Green also created "Plant a Seed Day," an international holiday.
In 2016, Kimbal co-founded Square Roots. This company focuses on urban farming. They grow organic food inside shipping containers. This helps bring fresh food to cities.
Recognition and Recent Events
Kimbal Musk has been featured in many major publications. In 2018, the World Economic Forum named him a Global Social Entrepreneur of the Year. This award recognized his work in helping communities.
In 2020, Kimbal's Next Door's Family Fund program faced some questions. This fund was set up to help employees during emergencies. Contributions to the fund came from the employees themselves.
In 2022, there was an investigation into some of Kimbal's stock sales. He sold shares of Tesla, Inc. shortly before his brother, Elon Musk, asked on Twitter if he should sell some of his own Tesla shares.
Kimbal Musk's Personal Life
Kimbal Musk was married to Jen Lewin, with whom he started The Kitchen restaurant. They had two children together but later divorced. He lives in Boulder, Colorado. In April 2018, he married Christiana Wyly, who is an environmental activist. Kimbal also has another daughter from a different relationship.
In 2010, Kimbal broke his neck while inner tubing. This caused him to be temporarily unable to move for three days. He recovered after surgery.
See also
In Spanish: Kimbal Musk para niños
