In the 14th century - Mansa Musa - the ruler of the kingdom of Mali in West Africa - went on a Hadj to Mecca. To impress all that he met he had a retinue of as many as 60,000 - and brought with him 20 tons of gold. This has made many dub Mansa Musa the richest person in history.

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Sources

https://magazine.northwestern.edu/features/caravans-of-gold-fragments-in-time/a-golden-age-king-mansa-musas-reign

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansa_Musa

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47379458

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catalan_Atlas_BNF_Sheet_6_Mansa_Musa_(cropped).jpg

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