You might think you know something about the richest men in the world by reading Forbes' annual rankings, but you'll have to go back a long time to find the richest man in history.
It was MansaMusa, the king of the MaliEmpire from 1280-1337.
His net worth is estimated to be about $400 billion in today’s dollars, or more than four times as wealthy as the richest man today.
He made his money by mining both salt and gold.
His home was Timbuktu, which was rich in both minerals, considered to be almost priceless at the time.
His birth name was Musa Keita but was renamed Mansa Musa, which means “King of Kings.”
He exploited new and emerging trade routes to find new markets for his valuable assets.
As the trade routes grew, so too did the size of his kingdom.
Once while traveling through Cairo, Egypt, he gave away so much gold to the poor that he caused massive inflation on the local economy, which turned into an economic crisis.
He used his fortune to expand his empire, but also for charitable and religious purposes.
He not only built mosques, but also universities and libraries.
The DjinguereberMosque stood for 700 years after he commissioned its construction.
It’s possible that one day, there’s going to be a man of comparable wealth, but thus far, no one’s even gotten close to him.
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