2. Musa I of the Mali Empire – the leading producer of gold – became so inordinately wealthy that during a pilgrimage to Mecca he donated more than 24 tons of gold to the poor without care.
Musa I, also known as Mansa Musa, was the tenth Sultan of the Mali Empire, reigning from 1312 until his death in 1337. Ascending to the throne due to the customs of the Sultanate, Musa, despite not being the son of his predecessor, Abubakari Keita II, was appointed deputy in his absence during a royal expedition to explore the Atlantic Ocean. Never returning, with Abubakari believed to have been lost at sea, the thirty-two-year-old Musa was crowned in his place. Inheriting the empire, among the many titles bestowed on Musa was Lord of the Mines of Wangara, with his new domain the largest producer of gold in the world.
Displaying his wealth during a flamboyant pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, Musa journeyed to the holy city with 12,000 slaves each carrying almost two kilograms of gold bars and eighty camels carrying each three hundred pounds of gold dust. Dispersing this incalculable wealth to the poor along the route, Musa ordered and financed the construction of a new mosque upon his location each Friday during his travels. Possibly the wealthiest individual to have ever lived, Musa’s projected wealth, although difficult to calculate, is estimated to have been equivalent to around $415,000,000,000 today.