Whenever we think of the richest man ever, our thoughts turn to the western world. We think of people like John D Rockefeller in the past and Bill Gates in current history. It occurs to almost no one that anything “world’s richest” could come from Africa. However, this longstanding belief was disproved by the discovery of the man named Mansa Musa I, one-time Emperor of the Empire of Mali (1312–1337).
biography, family
His real name is Musa Keita, but he adopted the name “Mansa”, meaning “king of kings or emperor” when he became ruler of the Malian Empire after the death of his predecessor Abu-Bakr II in 1312.
The richest man of all time was born in Malithe Keita dynasty. History cannot trace the exact date of birth. His grandfather was Abu-Bakr Keita, whose brother Sundiata Keita has gone down in oral history as the founder of the Malian Empire. Neither Mansa Musa’s grandfather ascended the throne nor his father, Faga Laye was of any importance in Malian history. However, Musa came to power through the tradition of appointing a deputy when a king made his pilgrimage to Mecca or other ventures. Thus he ascended the throne when his predecessor never returned from a quest to reach the very ends of the ocean that surrounds the earth.
It was also not clear how many wives and children Mansa Musa I has, but his only mentioned spouse and heir was Inari Kunate and Maghan I respectively.
Wealth (income and earnings)
Malian King Mansa Musa I was the richest man in the whole history of the world. According to a new inflation-adjusted list, Mansa Musa was worth a whopping $400 billion, unbelievably putting him ahead of the Rothschild family ($350 billion) and John D. Rockefeller ($340) as the richest person in history makes billion). Mansa is known to have made its fortune and fame from the gold and ivory trade that took place in Africa in the 14th century.
lifestyle
Mansa Musa I, the Malian emperor, is largely remembered by historians in Africa and beyond for his extravagant hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. This lavish pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, which he began in 1324, led him to rulers in the Middle East and Europe. Archaeologists have found that Mansa Musa gathered a large group of people to embark on the journey with him. The royal couple were accompanied by 60,000 porters in a caravan of 100 camels, each carrying 300 pounds of gold, 500 attendants of his elder wife, 500 slaves each carrying 4 pounds of gold, and thousands of his subjects. According to David Tschanz in his essay “Lion of Mali: The Hajj of Mansa Musa” in the May 2012 issue of Makzan. “At the head of the host stood 500 heralds,
During the famous voyage he stopped in Egypt and spent so much gold that the Egyptian economy was ruined for years to come. Upon his arrival in Egypt, Mansa Musa encamped near the pyramids for three days. He then sent a gift of 50,000 dinars to the Sultan of Egypt, Al-Nasir Muhammad, before settling in Cairo for three months. The sultan lent him his palace for the summer and made sure his entourage was treated well. Mansa Musa gave away thousands of gold bars and Egyptian traders took advantage of this by charging five times the normal price for their goods. As a result, the value of gold in Egypt fell by up to 25 percent. While in Cairo and Mecca, he spent so much money that he eventually ran out of breath.
Having no money to support his journey home, he had to borrow a large amount from Egyptian traders and in order to improve the gold market, Musa borrowed all the gold he could carry from lenders in Cairo at a ridiculously high interest rate. He directly controlled the price of gold in the Mediterranean, reportedly the only time in history a man has done so.
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heritage
Mansa’s reign, which lasted a good 25 years, was one of absolute peace and prosperity in Mali and the surrounding West African countries. According to celebritynetworth.com, the West African nation in Mali, Musa was responsible for more than half of the world’s salt and gold supplies under his leadership. Musa started a large building program and had mosques and madrasas built in Timbuktu and Gao. Most notably, the ancient center of learning of the Sankore Madrasah (or the University of Sankore) was built during his reign.
It was also recorded that he attended a mosque every Friday. He designed numerous buildings for the emperor, including a new palace called Madagou, the mosque in Gao, the second largest city in Mali, and the surviving grand mosque in Timbuktu, the largest city in the empire.
Death
Mansa Musa I died in 1337 and was succeeded by his son Maghan I. However, his heirs could not maintain their father’s wealth and fortune, and just two generations later all the wealth was gone – wasted on civil wars and invading armies.
Brief facts about Mansa Musa I
1. He came to the throne through the practice of appointing a deputy when a king is on his pilgrimage to Mecca or some other endeavor.
2. Musa was appointed deputy to Abubakari Keita II, the king before him, who was said to have gone on an expedition to explore the borders of the Atlantic Ocean, and never returned.
3. He was the tenth mansa (emperor) of Mali
4. During his reign, Mansa Musa conquered 24 cities and Mali was possibly the largest gold producer in the world.
5. The extent of his wealth is considered unimaginable.
6. In history, he was the only man who directly controlled the price of gold in the Mediterranean.
7. His admiral monuments in Mali have been recorded as the basis of an urban civilization.
8. Musa’s acts of generosity inadvertently destroyed the economies of the regions through which he traveled during his pilgrimages, as he not only gave gold to the poor he met along the way, but also exchanged gold pieces for souvenirs.
9. A devout Muslim, he brought architects from Spain and Cairo to build his grand palace in Timbuktu and the great Djinguereber Mosque that still exists today, making Timbuktu a center for commerce, culture and Islam.
10. During his reign, Mansa Musa I re-staffed the University of Sankore in Timbuktu with jurists, astronomers and mathematicians making it a center of learning and culture and attracting Muslim scholars to Timbuktu from across Africa and the Middle East.
11. While Musa’s palace has since disappeared, the university and mosque still stand in Timbuktu today as part of his legacy.