Extravagant Facts About Mansa Musa, The Richest Man In History
"You’re writing a book about Mansa Musa? I didn’t know anyone in America knew who he was. He was our Lincoln!"—quoted in P. James Oliver's book Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali
When you think of wealth, you probably think of the Gates, Rothschilds, and Rockefellers of the world—people whose riches we can count in dollars and cents (Ok, mostly dollars). But in the 14th century, there was an emperor in West Africa who was so enormously wealthy that it has proved nearly impossible to accurately put a number on his riches. That man was Mansa Musa I, king of the Mali Empire from 1312-1337, who, while largely unknown in the West, was very likely the single richest person in the history of the world. Keep reading to learn how he became so unimaginably wealthy, and what he did with all those untold riches.
Mansa Musa Facts
24. Vast Reaches
While emperor of the Mali Empire, Musa I ruled over 24 major cities, from Timbuktu to the Atlantic Ocean, and the regions we now know as Mali, Niger, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, and Mauritania, covering around 439,400 square miles.
23. Urban Revolution
Under Mansa Musa, the Mali Empire had over 400 cities. By building along the Niger Delta and bringing culture to his cities through education and beautifully constructed architecture, Musa laid the foundation for modern urban civilization with cities such as Timbuktu and Gao.
22. Wealth of the Earth
The source of the Empire's, and by extension Musa's wealth was from both gold and salt. Under the empire, all gold nuggets unearthed for officially the property of the Emperor. The gold was glamorous, sure, but though we take it for granted now, salt was considered as valuable as the precious metal during this time period, and it also helped provide Musa's fabulous wealth.
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