e Richest Man In All History Is An African, Meet Mansa Musa
Am sure you know of Bill gates, the current richest man alive, who at height
of his power was able to reach $100 billion networth. You may also know
of John D. Rockefeller, the richest man in living memory with an
estimated wealth around $250 billion. Both these men are from United
states.
But what you may not know is the Richest of them all. And most surprising, he is an African, by the name of MANSA MUSA.
African King Musa Keita I is thought to be the richest person of all
time — “richer than anyone could describe,” reports Time. His wealth was
incomprehensible.
REENACTMENT- Mansa Musa (played by John Phillips) looks over at his disciples. (Photo Credit: Cineflix International Media/ Darren Goldstein)
Musa Keita I came into power in 1312. When he was
crowned, he was given the name Mansa, meaning king. It is said that
Mansa Musa had conquered 24 cities, each with surrounding districts
containing villages and estates, during his reign.
Mansa Musa was in charge of a lot of land. To put
it into perspective, he ruled all (or parts) of modern day Mauritania,
Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad.
His wealth was made known to the world during
1324 pilgrimage to mecca, crossing a distance of nearly 4000 miles. His
procession reportedly included 60,000 men, including 12,000 slaves who
each carried four pounds of gold bars and heralds dressed in silks who
bore gold staffs, organized horses, and handled bags. Musa provided all
necessities for the procession, feeding the entire company of men and
animals. Those animals included 80 camels which each carried between 50
and 300 pounds of gold dust. Musa gave the gold to the poor he met along
his route. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to
Mecca, including Cairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs.
It was reported that he built a mosque each and every Friday.
But Musa’s generous actions inadvertently
devastated the economy of the regions through which he passed. In the
cities of Cairo, Medina, and Mecca, the sudden influx of gold devalued
the metal for the next decade. Prices on goods and wares greatly
inflated. To rectify the gold market, on his way back from Mecca, Musa
borrowed all the gold he could carry from money-lenders in Cairo, at
high interest. This is the only time recorded in history that one man
directly controlled the price of gold in the Mediterranean.
After reigning for 25 years, Mansa Musa died in
1337. He was succeeded by his son, Maghan I. “The king’s rich legacy
persisted for generations and to this day, there are mausoleums,
libraries, and mosques that stand as a testament to this golden age of
Mali’s history.
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