The Richest Man Of All Time (Mansa Musa)
The debate about who is the richest man of all time, has been a big issue that people have argued from generation to generation. We have seen richest men like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Ellon Musk. Even in Nigeria, we’ve seen wealthy men like Dangote, Adenuga, Otedola and many others. But all the wealth of these men put together, can’t compare with Mansa Musa’s wealth. It’s was the extravagance of Mansa Musa that wrecked his kingdom back in those days.
In 1312, Mansa Abu-Bakr renounced the throne of the Malian Empire, in order for him to go on an expedition to explore the Atlantic Ocean. He embarked on this journey with a fleet of 2000 ships and thousands of men, women and slaves. They all sailed away, never to return
His brother, Keita Musa, who was also known as Mansa Musa, assumed the throne. Under Musa’s reign, the kingdom prospered and expanded. His kingdom included the modern-day Senegal, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Ivory Coast.
Mali was extremely wealthy, this was because of the tax charges placed on trades both within and outside the kingdom.
Mali was the one of the wealthiest nations, because their trade was the highest compared to other trades in other kingdoms. They were also very rich in gold.
Mali had so much gold mines within their bother, unlike Ghana that’s a transit point for gold. The kingdom was charging for every ounce of gold, copper and salt that passes through their border.
By the 14th century, Mali became a major supplier of gold all over the world. They were exporting gold from the mines of Bambuk, Boure and Galam..
Many other kingdoms, got to know about Mali, when Mansa Musa, who was a devout Muslim, traveled to Mecca, through the Sahara desert.
Musa was a devout Muslim, that could read and write in Arabic. In the year 1324, Musa embarked on a pilgrimage journey to the holy city of Mecca. He traveled along with 60,000 men, that all wore brocade and Persian silk. He also travelled with 12,000 slaves, that each carried 1.8 kg gold bars, and other people that carried his gold.
Musa was providing for everybody that travelled along with him. These necessities includes feeding everybody, both the animals. Those animals include 80 camels.
Musa was not just extremely wealthy, he was also excessively generous. He was giving to the poor on along his route. In Cairo, where he stayed for 3 months, he gave so much gold to to the extent that the price of gold in the city reduced drastically for the next 10 years.
Musa returned from Mecca in 1325. He brought back with him many Arabian scholars and architects. He funded literature, built schools, libraries and mosques. Mansa Musa died in the year 1337.