Mansa Musa, The Richest Person to leave on Earth in History.
In Current Date Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world, according to the Forbes billionaires' list. With an estimated fortune of $184.5bn he is the wealthiest man in modern history.
But he is by no means the richest man of all time.
Mansa Musa, The Malian Emperor
That title is believed to belong to Mansa Musa, the 14th Century West African ruler. He was so rich that his generous handouts wrecked an entire country's economy.
He ruled the Mali Empire in the 14th century and his land was laden with lucrative natural resources, most notably gold.
He was born in 1280 into a family of rulers. His brother, Mansa Abu-Bakr, ruled the empire until 1312, when he abdicated the throne to go on an expedition.
According to 14th Century Syrian historian Shibab al-Umari, Abu-Bakr was obsessed with the Atlantic Ocean and what lay beyond it. He reportedly embarked on an expedition with a fleet of more than 2,000 ships and thousands of men, women and slaves. They sailed off, never to return.
Some, like the late American historian Ivan Van Sertima, entertain the idea that they reached South America. But there is no evidence of this.
In any case, Musa Keita inherited the kingdom he left behind and came into power in 1312. When he was crowned, he was given the name Mansa, meaning king.
Mali Empire (AD800 – AD1550)
Under his rule, the kingdom of Mali grew significantly. He annexed 24 cities, including Timbuktu. He annexed the city of Timbuktu and re-established power over Gao.
The kingdom stretched for about 2,000 miles, from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to modern-day Niger, taking in parts of what are now Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Ivory Coast.
Mansa Musa was in charge of a lot of land. With such a large land mass came great resources such as gold and salt.
During the reign of Mansa Musa, the empire of Mali accounted for almost half of the Old World's gold, according to the British Museum. And all of it belonged to the king.
The journey to Mecca
Journey to Mecca
Though the empire of Mali was home to so much gold, the kingdom itself was not well known.
This changed when in 1324, Mansa Musa, a devout Muslim, decided to go on a nearly 4,000-mile pilgrimage to Mecca, passing through the Sahara Desert and Egypt.
He didn't do it on the cheap. HE reportedly left Mali with a caravan of 60,000 men. He took his entire royal court and officials, soldiers, griots (entertainers), merchants, camel drivers and 12,000 slaves, as well as a long train of goats and sheep for food. It was a city moving through the desert stretching as far as the eye could see.
A city whose inhabitants, all the way down to the slaves, bearing gold staffs and dressed in fine silks, and many camels and horses bearing an abundance of gold bars.
The Cairo gold crash
Drawing of Mansa Musa donating Gold
On his stop in Cairo, he hands out gold in Cairo that his three-month stay caused the price of gold to plummet in the region for 10 years, wrecking the economy. He spent so much gold and donated so much money to the poor that he caused mass inflation! It would take years for the city to fully recover from the currency crisis.
Education at heart
Mansa Musa on 1375's Catalan Atlas Map
Mansa Musa had put Mali and himself on the map, quite literally that 1375’s Catalan Atlas map, which was one of the most important world maps of Medieval Europe. A drawing of an African king siting on a golden throne atop Timbuktu, holding a piece of gold in his hand was drawn.
Mansa Musa returned from Mecca with several Islamic scholars, including direct descendants of the prophet Muhammad and an Andalusian poet and architect by the name of Abu Es Haq es Saheli, who is widely credited with designing the famous Djinguereber mosque.
Djinguereber mosque
In addition to encouraging the arts and architecture, he also funded literature and built schools, libraries and mosques. Timbuktu soon became a centre of education and people travelled from around the world to study at what would become the Sankore University.
The rich king is often credited with starting the tradition of education in West Africa, although the story of his empire largely remains little known outside West Africa.
Mansa Musa’s Dead
After reigning for 25 years, Mansa Musa died in 1337. He was succeeded by his son, Maghan I. The king's rich legacy persisted for generations and to this day, there are mausoleums, libraries, and mosques that stand as a testament to this golden age of Mali's history.
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