 The great Mansa Musa. First, Mansa is not his name. Mansa is his title. It means king. King Musa ruled over the Mali Empire and the great city of Timbuktu for 25 years during the 14th century. Mansa Musa, a black man of West Africa, to this date is recognized as the richest man to ever live. His net worth in 24 karat gold has been valued at over 400 billion bucks. He's worth more than Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Michael Jordan and LeBron James put together. He moved an entourage of over 60,000 men, 800 camels on a 4,000 mile journey traveling through West Africa on foot crossing through the burning sands of the hot Sahara desert resting in Cairo, Egypt, while on his way to the holy city of Mecca to fulfill one of the five pillars of his faith. He carried over one million worth in gold and pocket change that he used for charity as he shared his wealth with strangers as he passed through African nations. He transformed Timbuktu into the epic center of his empire by building the great Din Din Jaber Mosque which eventually became a famous learning center that attracted scholars from across the Muslim world as it became home to over one million manuscripts. Mansa Musa of Mali, the generous black king of Africa.