Mansa Musa I – Net Worth $400 Billion, an African king from the late 13th century, is considered the richest person to ever lived. Above the noted Sam Walton, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates combined wealth.
Musa Keita I was the tenth Mansa, which translates as "King of Kings" or "Emperor", of the wealthy Mali Empire. At the time of Musa's rise to the throne, the Malian Empire consisted of territory formerly belonging to the Ghana Empire in present-day southern Mauritania and in Melle and the immediate surrounding areas. Musa held many titles, including Emir of Melle, Lord of the Mines of Wangara, Conqueror of Ghanata, and at least a dozen others.
| Reign | c. 1312–37 (25 years) |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Abubakari II |
| Successor | Maghan Musa |
| Spouse | Inari Kunate |
| Issue | Maghan Musa |
| House | Keita Dynasty |
| Father | Faga Laye |
| Born | 1280s Mali |
| Died | c. 1337 Unknown |
| Religion | Islam |
Emperor Mansa Musa I Fun Facts About The Richest People Who Ever Lived:
- These billionaires control a combined $4.317 trillion!
- The richest people ever are all men. Sadly No women cracked the top 25.
- 14 out of the 25 people are Americans.
- Bill Gates is the richest American and the richest person still alive on this list.
- Carlos Slim Helu, the former richest person in the world, did not even crack the top 20.
By Brian Warneron www.celebritynetworth.com
8 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About the Richest Man in History, Mansa Musa
AtlantaBlackStar.com by Curtis Bunn
8 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About the Richest Man in History, Mansa Musa
Richest Man in History
Mansa Musa I – Net Worth $400 Billion, an African king from the late 13th century, is considered the richest person to ever lived.
Appointed to the Throne
Musa came to the throne of West Africa’s Malian Empire through a practice of appointing a deputy when a king goes on his pilgrimage to Mecca or journeys somewhere else and later naming the deputy as heir. According to historians, Musa was appointed the deputy of Abubakari II, the king before him, who had reportedly embarked on an expedition to explore the limits of the Atlantic Ocean and never returned.
Wealth Through Salt and Gold
Musa made his unprecedented fortune by maximizing his country’s salt and gold production and through widespread construction of mosques that still stand today, 700 years later. He imposed his rule on trans-desert trading towns such as Walata. Musa’s rule produced more than half the world’s supply of salt and gold.
News of the Malian Empire’s city of wealth even traveled across the Mediterranean to southern Europe, where traders from Venice, Granada and Genoa soon added Timbuktu to their maps to trade manufactured goods for gold.
Historic Pilgrimage to Mecca Caused a ‘Great Depression’
When Musa made his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, it was an historic event. He had a procession that included 60,000 men, each carrying four pounds of gold bars. Musa funded the excursion for all, including dozens of animals. The poor on his route were the recipients of gold from him. Musa’s vast dispensing of gold was so huge that he upset the value of goods in the region. Gold became more plentiful and, therefore, worth less. In the cities of Cairo, Medina and Mecca, gold was devalued for an entire decade. To rectify the gold market, Musa borrowed at a high interest rate all the gold he could carry from lenders in Cairo. He directly controlled the price of gold in the Mediterranean, reportedly the only time in history one man has done so. Furthermore, it has been recorded that he built a mosque every Friday.
Responsible for the Prominence of Timbuktu, One of the Greatest Cities in History
In 1330, the kingdom of Mossi invaded and conquered the city of Timbuktu. Gao had already been captured by Musa’s general, and Musa quickly regained Timbuktu and built a rampart and stone fort, and placed a standing army to protect the city from future invaders.
Through Musa’s influence, Timbuktu became a center of trade, culture and Islam and one of the most famous cities in the world. Markets brought in merchants from the Middle East, Egypt and other African kingdoms.
The University of Sankore in Timbuktu was restaffed under Musa’s reign with jurists, astronomers and mathematicians. It became a center of learning and culture, drawing Muslim scholars from around the world.
Major City-Building
Musa did not only embark on a large building program, building mosques and madrasas in Timbuktu and Gao, he also did so in the cities of Djenné and Ségou. He brought architects from Spain and Cairo to build palaces in Timbuktu and the great Djinguereber Mosque.
During this period, there was an advanced level of urban living in the major centers of Mali. Sergio Domian, an Italian art and architecture scholar, wrote the following about this period: “Thus was laid the foundation of an urban civilization. At the height of its power, Mali had at least 400 cities, and the interior of the Niger Delta was very densely populated.”
One of the Greatest Statesmen in History
Musa also enclosed a large part of the Western Sudan within a single system of law and order. He did this so successfully that the Moroccan writer Ibn Battuta, traveling through Mali about 12 years after Musa’s death, found “complete and general safety in the land.” This was a huge political success, and made Musa one of the greatest statesmen in the history of Africa.
Lost Fortune, But Legacy Remains
The death of Mansa Musa is highly debated among modern historians and the Arab scholars who recorded the history of Mali. After Musa’s death in 1331, his heirs were unable to maintain the fortune, and it was substantially depleted by civil wars and invading armies. While Musa’s palace has since vanished, the university and mosque still stand in Timbuktu today.
The Richest People of All Time
The Richest People of All Time
Net Worth Greater Than $100 Billion
#19 Bernard Arnault – $100 billion
#19 Warren Buffett – $100 billion
#18 Stephen Girard – $105 Billion
French born shipping and banking mogul Stephen Girard died with the equivalent of $105 billion in 1831. Girard didn't have any heirs so he left the bulk of his estate to charity.
#17 John of Gaunt – $110 Billion
John of Gaunt was England's King Richard II's Regent and had a net worth equal to $110 billion in today's dollars thanks to very generous land grants.
#16 Richard Fitzalan 10th Earl of Arundel – $118.6 Billion
The 10th Earl of Arundel also known as Richard Fitzalan, was a prominent English nobleman and land owner who had a net worth equivalent to $118.6 billion at the time of his death in 1376.
#15 John Jacob Astor – $121 Billion
John Jacob Astor has the honorable distinction of being the very first American multi-millionaire in history. He made his first million by trading furs from Canada to wealthy women in New York City. He used his money to acquire vast amounts of real estate and had a net worth equivalent to $121 billion when he died in 1848.
#14 William de Warenne – $147.13 Billion
William de Warenne, the first Earl of Surrey, was an English military leader and nobleman who was awarded large grants of land for his service during the battle of Hastings. That land was worth the equivalent of $146.13 billion in 1088.
#13 Bill Gates – $140 Billion
Gates had a net worth of $100 billion very briefly in 1999 at the peak of the dotcom bubble. After you adjust $100 billion in 1999 for inflation, that's equal to $140 billion today.
#12 Jeff Bezos – $170 Billion
Jeff's net worth topped $170 billion in September 2018. His fortune was cut by more than $35 billion when he and ex-wife Mackenzie finalized their divorce.
#11 Alan Rufus – $178.65 Billion
Alan Rufus was the 11th century military companion of William The Conqueror. Going to war with William was a very profitable endeavor. Rufus was given 250,000 acres of land in England, which at the time was worth the equivalent to $178.65 billion.
#10 Cornelius Vanderbilt – $185 Billion
Cornelius Vanderbilt is the third richest American ever, the 10th richest person in history and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper's great-great-great-grandfather. Cornelius Vanderbilt made his first fortune in the steamboat industry but didn't see his wealth really explode until he invested in railroads at the age of 70. When he died, his estate was worth the equivalent of $185 billion.
#9 Henry Ford – $199 Billion
Ford motor company founder Henry Ford built an iconic brand which we all still know and see today. At the time of death in 1947, he had accumulated a net worth equivalent to $199 billion modern dollars.
#8 Muammar Gaddafi – $200 Billion
After his death in 2011, reports surfaced that Muammar Gaddafi was secretly the wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $200 billion. In the months surrounding his death nearly $70 billion in cash was seized in foreign bank accounts and real estate. Muammar Gaddafi's iron fisted rule over Libya's oil fields made up the rest of his net worth.
#7 William The Conqueror – $229.5 Billion
William The Conqueror lived from 1028-1087 and was most famous for invading and subsequently seizing England in 1066. When you spend a lifetime conquering other kingdoms, you tend to acquire quite a bit of money. In Williams case, when he died he left the equivalent of $229.5 billion to his sons.
#6 Mir Osman Ali Khan – $230 billion
Mir Osman Ali Khan, also known as The Nizam of Hyderabad, was the ruler of Hyderabad until the country was invaded by neighbor India. Mir Osman Ali Khan had a personal collection of gold that was worth more than $100 million and owned over $400 million worth of jewels including the famous Jacob Diamond which is worth $95 million today. Khan used the diamond as a paperweight in his office. He supposedly owned more than 50 Rolls Royces.
#5 Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov – $300 Billion
Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, also known as Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, ruled the Russian empire from 1894 to 1917 when Bolshevik revolutionists overthrew and murdered him and his family. In 1916, Tsar Nicholas II's net worth was nearly $900 million which is the inflation adjusted equivalent to $300 billion in 2012 dollars. With $300 billion makes him the fifth richest person in history and since the Russian Orthodox canonized him, he is the richest saint in human history.
#4 Andrew Carnegie – $310 Billion
Andrew Carnegie made his vast fortune when he sold his Carnegie Steel Company to JP Morgan for $480 million in 1901. That equates to a peak net worth equivalent to $310 billion in modern dollars. When he sold his company to JP Morgan, Carnegie took home $230 million worth of gold bonds and received a 5% annual coupon to top it off. The bonds sat in a bank in New Jersey which Carnegie never visited. After selling his company, Carnegie retired from business life and dedicated his time to charity. He gave away the majority of his fortune during his lifetime and his final $30 million was donated after his death. Many universities and foundations still bear his name today.
#3 John D. Rockefeller – $340 Billion
John D. Rockefeller is the richest American who ever lived. At the time of his death in 1937, Rockefeller was worth the equivalent of $340 billion in today's dollars. His company, Standard Oil, dominated American Oil production and was eventually broken up by the US Government for being a monopoly. Standard Oil was broken into smaller companies that you probably recognize today: Amoco, Chevron Conoco, and ExxonMobil. Rockefeller was the first American to ever have a net worth over $1 billion.
#2 The Rothschild Family – $350 Billion
The Rothschild family are the richest people on earth today with assets that total at least $350 billion. Their net worth is difficult to peg because their holdings are so vast, but without question they are the most powerful family in the world. Many people believe they control over $1 trillion in real estate and banking assets alone.
#1: Mansa Musa I – $400 Billion
Mansa Musa I of Mali is the richest human being in history with a personal net worth of $400 billion! Mansa Musa lived from 1280 – 1337 and ruled the Malian Empire which covered modern day Ghana, Timbuktu and Mali in West Africa. Mansa Musa's shocking wealth came from his country's vast production of more than half the world's supply of salt and gold. Musa used his wealth to build immense mosques that still stand today, nearly 700 years later. His kingdom and wealth didn't last much longer after his death. His heirs were not able to fend off civil war and invading conquerors. Just two generations later, his world record net worth was gone.
By Brian Warner on November 11, 2019 www.celebritynetworth.com
