Q&A
How wealthy was Mansa Musa?
• SHORT ANSWER
The richest person ever to have lived had so much gold that he once destabilised a country’s economy
• LONG ANSWER
In control of half of the world’s gold production, colossal stores of precious salt and numerous lucrative trading routes, it’s no wonder that Musa – a 14th-century mansa (ruler) of the vast Mali empire in west Africa – has gone down as one of the BIG money-makers. When on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, he was so generous with his gold that he caused its price to plummet and the economy of Egypt to crash.
While comparing wealth across time, geography and culture is a tricky business, there is good reason why he is referred to as the richest person to have ever lived. One estimate, which should be taken with a pinch of salt, put Musa’s wealth at $400bn (around £330bn). To put that in perspective, at the time of writing, Elon Musk’s worth has peaked at $340bn – and he’s got a whole digitally connected planet and even space to make his money.