Mansa Musa is the wealthiest man that ever lived. He came to power in 1312 C.E, after the previous king, Abu Bakr II disappeared at sea. He departed on a large fleet of ships to explore the Atlantic Ocean and never returned, leaving way for Mansa Musa to inherit a kingdom that was already wealthy, but his work in expanding trade would make the Mali Empire the wealthiest kingdom in Africa and him the wealthiest man to have ever walked the earth.
His riches came from mining significant salt and gold deposits at the time and ivory was another major source of wealth. When Mansa Musa went on a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca in 1324 C.E, his journey through Egypt caused quite the stir. The kingdom of Mali was relatively unknown outside of West Africa up until this event.
Writers from the time said that he traveled with an entourage of tens of thousands of people and dozens of camels, each carrying 136 kilograms (300 pounds) of gold. While in Cairo, Mansa Musa and his caravan spent and gave away so much gold that the overall value of gold decreased in Egypt causing a recession for 12 years.
Stories of his fabulous wealth started to reach Europe. The Catalan Atlas, created in 1375 C.E. by Spanish cartographers show West Africa dominated by a depiction of Mansa Musa sitting on a throne, holding a nugget of gold in one hand and a golden staff in the other. After the publication of this atlas, Mansa Musa became cemented as a global figure of incredible wealth even by today’s standards.
Musa didn’t just want wealth and power, he sought knowledge.
On his return from Mecca, Mansa Musa brought back architects and scholars and began redeveloping cities in his kingdom, building iconic buildings (which still stand today) mosques, establishing cities, the very first universities in the world, and most famously, Timbuktu.
“Contemporary accounts of Musa’s wealth are so breathless that it’s almost impossible to get a sense of just how wealthy and powerful he truly was,” Rudolph Butch Ware, associate professor of history at the University of California, told the BBC.
An estimate of well over $400 billion is at the very least that’s been assumed of the wealth of Mansa Musa.
Quote Source: BBC History, Money online.