We have all heard of wealthy individuals in our lifetime. People such as Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates all come to mind when we think of wealth in modern times. However, there lived a man who ruled the Mali Empire in West Africa from 1312 – 1337.
Mansa Musa, believed to be the 10th ruler of Mali, has been credited with being the worlds wealthiest individual to ever exist. He is credited with having an estimated net worth of $400 billion. Keep in mind, this was during the Middle Ages in Europe and not in the industrialized world we live in today. You may be asking yourself, how was someone able to accumulate such incredible wealth? Mansa Musa did have a clear advantage. The Mali Empire, before Musa’s ascension, had conquered the Ghana Empire. He also profited from the growing connection of Islamic Empires that were rising across Northern Africa. It brought more security in trade and the common religion helped to unify people that he conquered.
That is not to say that he had everything given to him. In fact, Mansa Musa conquered twenty-four cities during his reign, or about one per year if you were to average it out. There were also rebellious cities, such as Gao, which Musa was able to recapture in 1325 and became a prominent trading post in the Western Sahara. It still belongs to Mali to this day.
The Mali Empire under Mansa Musa soon became the largest producer of gold in the world. It became so prominent that the prominent traders of the Mediterranean, such as Venice and Genoa, frequently made the trip to trade for their gold. With this wealth, Musa rebuilt a palace at the capital city of Timbuktu and a massive mosque that still stands today. He was able to fully staff the University of Sankore, which became a prominent center of learning, the likes of which had not been seen since the Library of Alexandria with an estimated one million manuscripts.
In short, Musa was able to accumulate his wealth due to the large gold mines that were in the Mali Empire. Though the empire was built, Musa was able to bring the Mali Empire to the grandest empire in Western Africa. His wealth was known throughout Africa and Southern Europe where those that were able, greatly profited off the trade that the Mali Empire created. Through this wealth, Musa underwent construction projects that made the Mali Empire not just a trade stop, but a prominent civilization that lasted until 1670.
Mansa Musa reportedly died in 1337 when his son, Maghan, took the throne.
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