who is the richest man of all time in human history

 imagine a single individual having so much wealth they can control an entire region’s economy. In today’s world, when we think of rich people, we think Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, who is currently estimated to be worth over $199.7 billion. Yet, even with their seemingly outrageous wealth, these individuals do not control the economies in which they operate.

It’s crazy to imagine that the wealthiest man in history is estimated to have been worth double Jeff Bezos’s current net worth. It’s even harder to believe, given the socio-economic status of most black Africans nowadays, the wealthiest man in history was a black African man. His name was Mansa Musa, the tenth emperor of the Malian empire, a West African territory. He was not only the richest man in Mali but the richest man in human history.

Who was Mansa Musa?

Details of Musa are not easily available. This is because he lived during the thirteenth century. However, using the writings of ancient Arab scholars, historians have been able to collate some facts about this wealthy emperor. An interesting fact about Musa is that he was not born into a royal family. Musa became emperor of Mali when the emperor before him, Abubakari Keita II, appointed Musa as his deputy when he left on a pilgrimage to explore the ends of the Atlantic Ocean. On his failure to return, Musa took over as the emperor as was the custom in Mali.

At the time that Musa became emperor, Africa was turning into an international economic hub. Musa was able to take advantage of this era and turn Mali into one of the wealthiest regions in the world. He revamped Timbuktu, a city in the Mali empire into a bustling trade center that remains so even in modern-day Mali. In addition to being strategically located the Mali empire was also rich in natural resources such as salt and gold.

Musa was also able to greatly extend the Mali empire. The region’s wealth meant that most territories willingly joined the empire as this would lead to the improvement of the people’s standard of living. When territories did not join the Mali empire willingly, Musa had a massive and well-equipped army that could easily defeat any other African territory. He never lost a battle in his life. In his short reign of approximately twenty-five years, Musa grew the Mali empire to include modern-day Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Mauritania.

Although the Mali empire was extremely rich, this was not a well-known fact. This is because travel was relatively limited in those times, so very few outsiders would have witnessed the extent of the empire’s wealth. This all changed when Musa traveled to Mecca.

Mansa Musa’s journey to Mecca

As a devout Muslim, Musa decided to travel to Mecca, despite the journey being considered long and treacherous. On his journey, he took with him an entourage of 60 000 men. All those who traveled with Musa were dressed opulently and were well fed throughout the journey. No other empire could have afforded to do the same.

To get to Mecca, Musa passed through Cairo, where he showered ordinary people with gold. His acts of generosity got people talking and news of Musa’s wealth spread far and wide. Although he gave people gold to better their lives, the act of generosity did the complete opposite. The influx of gold in Cairo led to price increases which threatened to crash the entire economy.

Upon realizing this, on his way back to his empire from Mecca, Musa borrowed back the gold at high-interest rates. By doing so, he was able to stabilize the Egyptian economy. This is a fascinating story because it highlights the fact that Musa single-handedly controlled the entire economy.

The end of an empire

Musa died at the age of fifty-seven in 1337. He was the glue that kept the Mali empire together. Once his children took over as rulers, the smaller territories began to break off. Word had also spread across the oceans of the vast wealth in Mali and so various European nations began to evade the region. The empire tried to put up a fight but eventually succumbed to French colonial rule.

Musa was not only the richest man in history, he was a great philanthropist and leader. Under his rule, he improved the lives of many Africans. Many historians credit him with driving education within the continent. He staffed the University of Sankore in Timbuktu with world-class jurists, astronomers and mathematicians. The university remains a top university in Africa today. Although Musa’s legacy is not known worldwide, he is an appreciated and loved figure in West Africa.