Gold History: The Unbelievable Wealth of Mansa Musa
At a Glance:
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- Mansa Musa ruled the Mali Empire from 1312 until his death in 1337.
- By some accounts, Mansa Musa is the wealthiest man in history.
- In reality, Musa’s exact wealth is difficult to ascertain for a variety of reasons.
- On this page, learn more about the unbelievable wealth of Mansa Musa.
Gold History: The Unbelievable Wealth of Mansa Musa
With a net worth of over $450 billion USD, Elon Musk is the wealthiest person in the world, and some sources claim that he’s even the richest person in human history. While Mr. Musk’s enormous wealth is nothing to scoff at, he may not actually be the wealthiest person to have ever lived. The title of “richest man ever” may very well go to Mansa Musa, who lived over 700 years ago.
Mansa Musa ruled the Mali Empire from 1312 until his death in 1337. During his tenure as ruler, Mansa Musa oversaw a significant expansion to both the territory and wealth of the Mali Empire. Because historians don’t have an accurate accounting of all of Mansa Musa’s physical assets, it is not possible to reliably quantify his wealth in modern terms.
That being said, what we do know about Mansa Musa makes the degree of his wealth seem almost unbelievable. On a religious pilgrimage to the Muslim holy site of Mecca, he is rumored to have taken 18 tons of gold with him – enough to cause currency devaluation when he made his way through Cairo.
On this page, learn more about just how wealthy Mansa Musa was, how his wealth stacks up to today’s billionaires, and more.
Who Was Mansa Musa?
Mansa Musa was the Mansa, or the ruler, of the Mali Empire. The Mali Empire was an expansive regional power that controlled much of Western Africa until its decline in the late 1400s and total collapse in 1599. Musa was born in 1280 and took the throne in 1312, becoming the 19th Mansa in the Mali Empire’s history.
According to many historians, Mansa Musa ruled at the absolute height of the Mali Empire’s power and wealth. Under his rule, the Mali Empire expanded its borders and, through the use of taxes on mined salt and gold, added significantly to its massive reserves of gold. As such, Mansa Musa had access to a degree of wealth that was – and still is – exceedingly rare, even for heads of state.
Basic Background
Like many monarchs, developing a precise image of Mansa Musa can be tricky, primarily because contemporary historians may have been politically motivated to either malign or flatter the ruler. That being said, the basic details of Mansa Musa’s biographical information, interests as a leader, and major life developments are possible to find and (generally) confirm.
Musa ascended to the Mali throne in 1312, at a time when the Mali Empire’s territorial expansion was nearly at its height. By the time he was named ruler, the Mali Empire ruled the former Ghana Empire, as well as modern-day Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia.
Because of this, Mansa Musa had access to an inconceivable amount of wealth. The Mali Empire had amassed a historically large reserve of pure gold, so much of Mansa Musa’s wealth was concentrated in the form of gold.
Mansa Musa’s Pilgrimage to Mecca
Most people who have heard about Mansa Musa first learned about his pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city. The story goes that Mansa Musa, along with his assistants, slaves, and defense forces, took so much gold with him on his trip to Mecca that it crashed local economies when he came through various towns and cities.
It sounds unbelievable, but this tall tale may not be far from the truth. In fact, some sources believe that Mansa Musa took over 18 tons of gold with him on his pilgrimage. Especially in a smaller town, the introduction of even a fraction of that gold to the local economy could rapidly devalue the local trading value of gold, including gold coinage used as currency.
Remember – the gold trade wasn’t always as globalized as it is today. In the 1300s, gold could have been worth quite a bit less in the capital city of Mali than it was in a small, somewhat isolated sound. When someone introduced a substantial amount of gold to a local economy, it may have significantly devalued the gold that people within that local economy already had.
That being said, historians disagree on whether Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage actually had a catastrophic effect on the local economies he visited. Historians believe that a unit of gold in Egypt was worth 25 units of silver before Mansa Musa’s caravan made it through the territory and fewer than 22 units after. Some historians believe that this was a major blow to the currency and economy of these Egyptian cities; others argue that this value fluctuation was relatively normal for the time period.
In any case, the pilgrimage to Mecca demonstrated Mansa Musa’s jaw-dropping wealth. On this journey to the Muslim holy site, Mansa Musa’s caravan is rumored to have included:
- 12,000 slaves transporting 4 pounds of gold each
- 80 camels carrying 50 to 300 pounds of gold each
Mansa Musa’s Wealth
So, how wealthy was Mansa Musa? Unfortunately, the answer is that we don’t really know. It’s undeniable that Mansa Musa was one of the wealthiest men to ever live. He had nearly absolute access to the wealth of the Mali Empire, which was at its absolute zenith during his time in power. Mansa Musa capitalized on Mali’s unparalleled gold wealth, and his wealth was so great that he gifted gold to the poor, had mosques built during his journey, and even overpaid in gold for souvenirs.
Calculating Mansa Musa’s wealth is complicated for two main reasons.
First, Mansa Musa lived in a radically different time than we do. Calculating the value of all of his “assets,” such as the 12,000 slaves who accompanied him on his journey to Mecca, would be nearly impossible (not to mention immoral) today. Although historians often estimate that Mansa Musa had access to upwards of $450 billion in today’s dollars, most experts believe that adequately stating his wealth in modern figures would be nearly impossible.
Second, it is unclear just how wealthy the Mali Empire was. While we do know that Mansa Musa’s Mali Empire expanded significantly as a result of increased taxes on salt and extensive gold-mining businesses throughout its territories, it’s unclear just how much of that money would have been readily accessible to Mansa Musa himself.
The Myth
Online sources often refer to Mansa Musa as the wealthiest man in recorded history. According to some sources, his modern net worth would have been multiple trillions, due to his gold reserves, resources like slaves, real estate holdings, luxury goods, and other assets.
Some popular magazines have also suggested that Mansa Musa’s wealth was so great that he caused the collapse of several economies throughout the region as he journeyed from Mali to the holy city of Mecca. As the story goes, Mansa Musa frequently gave gold to the poor, built up to one mosque per week as he traveled, and paid for souvenirs in gold.
This legend has become a mainstay in discussions about the richest people in the world. According to proponents of this theory of Mansa Musa’s wealth, the ruler’s actual assets amount to trillions of dollars in money, a level of wealth that is almost impossible to fathom in this modern age.
The Reality
Like many things in history, the reality is quite a bit more complicated. The truth is that historians don’t know precisely how wealthy Mansa Musa was, how much gold he possessed, or how much money he’d have if converted into today’s modern currencies.
Historical records do prove several key parts of Mansa Musa’s extreme wealth, as well as his gold-covered trip to Mecca. From contemporary historians, we do know that Mansa Musa’s slaves and camels carried several tons of gold during the 2,700-mile journey to Mecca. Additionally, contemporary historians are able to confirm that the value of gold decreased in several Egyptian cities, including Cairo, for up to 12 years after Mansa Musa’s visit.
But as for claims that Mansa Musa held the equivalent of trillions of dollars or destabilized entire economies through his lavish travels to Mecca? We may never know the truth.
The Lingering Questions
We know that Mansa Musa was extraordinarily wealthy. Aside from having billions of dollars (at least) in gold, Musa potentially had near-complete access to the wealth of Mali, which was at the height of its power, prestige, and wealth during his tenure as Mansa. Finally, we know that he spent enough gold during his extravagant pilgrimage to Mecca to have a palpable effect on local economies.
What historians don’t quite know is how Mansa Musa’s wealth would translate into a modern net worth. Musa would have had various currencies, precious metals, rare commodities like salt and ivory, and more, all of which are difficult to translate reliably into modern assets and quantities.
It also wouldn’t be possible to estimate the value of certain assets belonging to Mansa Musa, such as his slaves. For very obvious reasons, it’s tough to say how much Musa’s army of servants would be valued at today, were they to be accounted for as part of his overall net worth.
How Much Gold Did Mansa Musa Have?
Historians from Mansa Musa’s time often claim that the ruler had access to approximately half of the world’s gold. Values for the Mali ruler’s gold holdings vary considerably, with some sources arguing that he held over $400 billion in gold and others suggesting a number in the trillions.
What is clear is that Mansa Musa was perhaps the biggest gold “investor” in the history of mankind. Much of his historic wealth came in the form of gold, which was primarily sourced from the many territorial gold mining and panning operations in its various territories. During the one-year pilgrimage to Mecca, Mansa Musa reportedly brought along with him over 18 tons of gold. Talk about a gold stack!
Elon Musk vs. Mansa Musa: Who Is the Richest Man in History?
Elon Musk is now the wealthiest man on Earth. Mr. Musk’s wealth is estimated at around $466 billion USD, according to Forbes. Most of this money comes from stock holdings in Tesla and SpaceX, two companies for which Musk serves as CEO. In other words, while Mr. Musk is worth $466 billion on paper, much of this wealth is not considered liquid, or readily and easily spendable.
Contrast this with Mansa Musa. During Musa’s time, gold was spendable money. While introducing too much gold into an economy could cause it to lose value as an asset, which actually happened during his trip to Mecca, Mansa Musa’s wealth was not dependent on stock valuations in the same way that Elon Musk’s is.
So, who’s wealthier – Elon Musk or Mansa Musa? It’s tough to say. While the two men are rumored to have had a similar net worth, somewhere between $400 billion and $500 billion USD, it is likely that Mansa Musa would have been more easily able to convert his wealth into tangible assets.
Complicating matters even more, some historians believe that Mansa Musa’s true wealth was far higher, perhaps even in the trillions.
Wealth Beyond Measure: About Mansa Musa
At the end of the day, historians tend to conclude that it would be nearly impossible to convert Mansa Musa’s wealth into a modern net worth. Aside from having unaccounted-for assets and assets that couldn’t possibly be reliably valuated today, Mansa Musa possessed and wielded his wealth in a vastly different way than the billionaires of today are able to.
Even if he may not be definitively the wealthiest man in history, we do know one thing:
Mansa Musa was a big fan of gold bullion!
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About The Author
Michael Roets
Michael Roets is a writer and journalist for Hero Bullion. His work explores precious metals news, guides, and commentary.