African emperor
One of the Mali Empire's most famous rulers, Mansa Musa, was celebrated for his piety and fair judgement. But he was also famed for being the richest man to have ever lived.
And how much was his net worth back then? Think about the wealth Elon Musk owns now, then add a couple hundred billion, and you will get close to Mansa Musa's fortune in the 14th century. Economists estimate that the West African emperor possessed riches equal to almost 400 billion US dollars.
Mansa Musa could easily be considered a great leader. He managed an efficient government through a bureaucratic system that provided each village greatly, while establishing provinces and provincial governors to handle local affairs.
1312 – c. 1337) was the ninth mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa is known for his wealth and generosity. He has been subject to popular claims that he is the wealthiest person in history, but the extent of his actual wealth is not known with any certainty.
While in Cairo, Mansa Musa met with the Sultan of Egypt, and his caravan spent and gave away so much gold that the overall value of gold decreased in Egypt for the next 12 years.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose recent business ventures include continued negotiations to purchase Twitter for $44 billion and opening a Tesla gigafactory in Austin, could become the world's first trillionaire as early as 2024, according to a report from software company Tipalti Approve.
Musa also reportedly ordered a new mosque built for him to pray at every Friday. In addition, he made formal charitable donations of 20,000 ounces of gold – 1,250 pounds – each at Cairo, Mecca, and Medina.
Mansa Musa, the king of Timbuktu, is often referred to as the wealthiest person in history. According to Ferrum College history professor Richard Smith, Musa's west African kingdom was likely the largest producer of gold in the world—at a time which gold was in especially high demand.
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Rockefeller is often cited as the world's first billionaire, achieving that status in 1916 largely through his ownership of Standard Oil.
He also built schools, libraries and mosques and helped Timbuktu become an epicentre for culture and education, per the BBC. Musa died in 1337 at age 57 and was succeeded by his sons, but eventually the empire fell apart.
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Much of the wealth came from plunders, taxes and control of caravan routes along the Silk Road and provide the Mongols with valuable revenue. He owned 270,000 horses and precious stones diamonds worth $1 trillion and gold deposits weighing in at a whopping 2 million tons totaling $11 trillion alone.
In 1324 Musa embarked on the hajj, the religious pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are expected to make in their lifetime. It was also an opportunity to forge alliances and to advertise his wealth and power through lavish displays.
Who is the richest man in the world? As of June 1, 2023, the richest man in the world is Bernard Arnault, the CEO and chairman of LVMH of France; he's worth $215 billion. He moved into the number one spot after Elon Musk's fortune fell in late 2022 as shares of electric carmaker Tesla fell.
Mansa Musa's fortune is due to the fact that he could have as much gold as he wanted. In total, the estimated wealth would be around 400 billion dollars (387.109 billion euros).
John D. Rockefeller's wealth was estimated at about $900 million (£184.88 million) in 1913, equivalent to $189.6 billion (£114.39 billion) in today's terms.
In this interview, he is talking about his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, a journey that took nearly two years. You could act out the parts of Mansa Musa and the scholar who is interviewing him, and then write a news article based on Mansa Musa's pilgrimage.
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National dictator controlling 9.6% of global GDP, Stalin had absolute power to direct the wealth of the Soviet Union toward any end he wanted. The modern equivalent to what he controlled would be nearly $8.5 trillion (inflation-adjusted value in 2022 dollars).
Bernard Arnault will reach trillionaire status at age 72 in 2029, 5 years after Elon Musk. Arnault is the chairman and chief executive of the world's largest luxury goods company, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH).