With a fortune of $ 400 billion, adjusted for inflation, Mansa Musa is significantly wealthier than the currently richest people in the world. Mansa Musa was an African king in the 14th century who holds the title of the richest man in the world of all time. Mansa Musa I ruled Mali from 1312 to 1337, and gained wealth by exploiting gold and salt. Musa was also known for his charity. During his reign, Mali held half of the world's gold. Musa the First was the tenth Mansa, which means "King of all kings". Musa, also known as Kankan Musa, was the emperor and "king of kings" of the kingdom of Mali. Musa ruled a vast country that replaced the Empire of Ghana.
Mansa Musa was an extremely wealthy king and one of the few rulers who was remembered for his good deeds, not just for the immense power he possessed. He was an enlightened Muslim who paid great attention to educating people, and from his numerous scholarships, students from all over the Muslim world were educated at Sankore University in Timbuktu. Musa was remembered for his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. His procession consisted of 60,000 men and 12,000 slaves, each carrying one gold bar weighing two kilograms. There were also about 500 heralds in silk robes in the procession carrying sticks made of dry gold.
Musa personally financed this incredible procession, and quality food was eaten by both people and animals. Part of Musa's caravan also consisted of 80 camels, each carrying between 20 and 130 kilograms of gold dust. Musa gave gold to the poor he would meet along the way, and he would often give large quantities of gold to merchants in exchange for the most ordinary souvenirs. When Mansa Musa passed through Cairo with 500 slaves in July 1324, he left so much gold in the city that its price dropped dramatically, causing the market to recover from inflation for 20 years.
Wanting to correct the mistake, Musa borrowed all the gold he could take out of Cairo, at very high interest rates. This is the only recorded case in history in which one man directly controlled the price of gold in the Mediterranean. From a trip to Cairo, Musa took home Arab scientists, lawyers, astronomers, mathematicians and architects and built numerous and magnificent mosques and madrasas in a country that had about 400 cities, with the Niger Delta densely populated. The pilgrimages of the West African rulers of Mecca took place before and after Musa, but none left such a lasting impression.