 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, Mansa Musa of Mali, the generous black king of Africa.