That was probably just their pocket money.

Well, there might have been some weirdness about South Africa at the time. Perhaps financial institutions had some weird weaknesses.

To keep it away from the tax man.

Maybe. But wouldn't you rather hire a good accountant and lawyer instead of bothering with cash at home?

A good accountant or lawyer would tell you to pay the taxes you can't avoid.

The trick is to make as many taxes as possible avoidable.

I know nothing about this specific situation, so I'm not speak to that. I am speaking to "why keep your wealth as cash in a safe?"

I'm old enough that grandparents lived through the great depression. I know they kept wealth in a safe. A lot of their kids did as well. The grandparents had their gold money taken away, or their cash disappeared in banks. A lot of their kids followed along.

Being gen X, Elon has parents/grandparents that lived through the great depression and world war. That along with any other local factors makes keeping wealth in a safe not that unusual.

Elon Musk grew up in South Africa.

> That seems pretty silly. Why keep your wealth as cash in a safe?

Was it during the apartheid boycotts?