Friday, February 28, 2014

King Mansa Musa of Mali named richest person of all time

King Mansa Musa’s astounding wealth came from his country Mali’s production of more than half the world’s gold and salt, Celebrity Net Worth said. A photograph of Mansa Musa on a map of North Africa circa 1375.

King Mansa Musa wasn’t just the 1% of the 14th century — he may be the richest person of all time.

As the obscure ruler of West Africa’s Mali Empire, Musa amassed a jaw-dropping $400 billion during his reign from 1312 to 1337, according to a new inflation-adjusted list by celebritynetworth.com.

That outranks the Rothschild family, whose European banking dynasty landed them second on the list with $350 billion, and John D. Rockefeller, the American industrialist worth $340 billion.

The 25 billionaires and families listed have made some megabucks, with a combined worth of $4.3 trillion.

As for Musa’s moolah, his “shocking wealth came from his country’s vast production of more than half the world’s supply of salt and gold,” according to the Celebrity Net Worth survey, which converted each billionaire’s fortunes into 2012 dollars.

Musa was a devout Muslim who spearheaded an extensive building program of palaces and mosques.

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