The richest man in history, whom few people know about (6 photos)
Modern researchers estimate his fortune at $400 billion - much more than Rockefeller, Bill Gates or Elon Musk. 
Mans Musa - ruler of the state of Mali from 1307 to 1332 AD. 
At that time it was a powerful empire, it controlled gold and salt mines. It sent all this stuff for export to Europe and simply became indecently rich. And through the capital of the country, the city of Timbuktu, caravans from neighboring countries with ivory and animal skins passed. Local authorities took their percentage from them and this further increased the welfare of the state. 
In general, everything was fine with money in Mali. Even very.
Musa himself was an ardent Muslim. Which means he had to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once. He went there - and made the trip so pompous that it was remembered for the next 700 years. 
The ruler took with him 80 thousand people of the retinue, 13 tons of gold, and 500 slaves with golden staffs led the procession. To show generosity and nobility, Musa freed one of the slaves every day, and as a gift left him this priceless staff. 
His oligarchic caravan passed through several countries and throughout the entire journey the sovereign scattered gold left and right. So much so that he spent all 13 tons of precious metal, and then paid with those same golden staffs, but even that was not enough. And when he got to Mecca, Musa had to borrow money for the return trip.
Nevertheless, he was fabulously rich. Analysts calculated that the sovereign's fortune was equal to $400 billion in today's money, no one before or after Musa had such a fortune. 
Well, soon after his death, Mali lost all its political and economic trump cards. And one of the richest states of its time turned into an ordinary, half-impoverished third world country.
