Mansa Musa (1280-1337) was the king of ancient empire of Mali in West Africa. He is the all time wealthiest man on earth. In 1324 Mansa Musa made the pilgrimage to Mecca after travelling across the desert to Cairo. His entourage consisted of 60,000 men including a retinue of 12,000 slaves and, it is said, 15,000 camels, each one laden with gold. His spending spree in Cairo caused the local gold market to collapse for twelve years; in 2012, Celebrity Net Worth named him as the wealthiest man of all time with a worth of $400 billion in today’s terms.”
Reference:
THE DESERT: Lands of Lost Borders by Michael Welland
