The Richest Man Who Ever Lived (Richer Than Elon Musk)

In 1324, Mansa Musa of Mali walked into Cairo carrying so much gold that he broke the price of gold itself. This is the story of the empire built on gold and salt, the pilgrimage of a reported sixty thousand people, and the fortune so large that giving it away weakened an economy for years. But Musa did not only spend gold. He borrowed it back at high interest, then used his wealth to build Timbuktu into a city of mosques, schools and books that outlasted his empire. Modern billionaires own companies. For one journey, Musa behaved like an economy unto himself. Subscribe to Riches & Ruins for stories of extreme wealth, luxury and power, past and present, and tell us in the comments what you would build with a fortune that big. Chapters: 0:00 The King Who Broke the Price of Gold 2:18 The Pilgrimage of Sixty Thousand People 4:56 Borrowing the Gold Back 5:56 Building Timbuktu, the City of Books 7:56 Death, Decline and the Ruin Inside the Riches