A West African King, Mansa Musa of Mali, Listed as the Richest Man in History

Mansa Musa I, a West African King of the 14th century, has been named the richest person in history in a new inflation-adjusted list of the world’s 25 wealthiest people (above is a video game representation of the king which shows what he may have looked like in the 1300's). The list spans 1,000 years and shows a combined fortune of $4.317trillion, with only three of the list’s 25 being alive today; none of them women and 14 of them American.


Mansa Musa I was named the richest person in history for having had a personal net worth of $400billion at the time of his death in 1331. Born in 1280, he ruled West Africa’s Malian Empire which covered modern day Ghana, Timbuktu and Mali. His country’s production of more than half the world’s supply of salt and gold contributed to Musa’s vast wealth, which he used to build large mosques that still stand today.

According to the writings of Arab-Egyptian scholar Al-Umari, Musa inherited his throne through a practice of appointing a deputy after the king goes on his pilgrimage to Mecca; later naming the deputy as heir.
Musa was appointed deputy of the king before him, who had reportedly embarked on an expedition to explore the limits of the Atlantic ocean, and never returned.

Just two generations after his death, however, Musa’s world record net worth was diminished after his heirs were not able to fend off civil war and invading Arabian and European conquerors.

The list also includes Andrew Carnegie (top left), John D. Rockefeller (top right), Mayer Amschel Rothschild (bottom left), and Cornelius Vanderbilt (bottom right).

Full list below...

1. MANSA MUSA I – $400 BILLION (BORN 1280)
2. ROTHSCHILD FAMILY – $350 BILLION (BORN 1744)
3. JOHN D ROCKEFELLER – $340 BILLION (BORN 1839)
4. ANDREW CARNEGIE – $310 BILLION (BORN 1835)
5. TSAR NICHOLAS II OF RUSSIA – $300 BILLION (BORN 1868)
6. MIR OSMAN ALI KHAN – $236 BILLION (BORN 1886)
7. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR – $229.5 BILLION (BORN 1028)
8. MUAMMAR GADDAFI – $200 BILLION (BORN 1942)
9. HENRY FORD – $199 BILLION (BORN 1863)
10. CORNELIUS VANDERBILT – $185 BILLION (BORN 1794)
11. ALAN RUFUS – $178.65 BILLION (BORN 1040)
12.  BILL GATES – $136 BILLION (BORN 1955)
13. WILLIAM DE WARENNE – $146.13 BILLION (BIRTH UNKNOWN)
14. JOHN JACOB ASTOR – $121 BILLION (BORN 1763)
15. RICHARD FITZALAN – $118.6 BILLION (BORN 1306)
16. JOHN OF GAUNT – $110 BILLION (BORN 1340)
17. STEPHEN GIRARD – $105 BILLION (BORN 1750)
18. ALEXANDER TURNEY STEWART – $90 BILLION (BORN 1803)
19. HENRY DUKE OF LANCASTER – $85.1 BILLION (BORN 1301)
20. FRIEDRICH WEYERHAUSER – $80 BILLION (BORN 1834)
21. JAY GOULD – $71 BILLION (BORN 1836)
22. CARLOS SLIM – $68 BILLION (BORN 1940)
23. MARSHALL FIELD – $66 BILLION(BORN 1834)
24. SAM WALTON – $65 BILLION (BORN 1918)
25. WARREN BUFFETT – $64 BILLION (BORN 1930)

POST CREDIT – DAILY MAIL