The Diamond Nugget WI Mansa Musa the First Trillionaire

What if Mansa Musa and Mali had more accumulated wealth than it in reality did, and it was actually worth more than a trillion modern-day dollars, and Mansa Musa was the first Trillionaire in history. I haven't seen many Trillionare timelines, so I wanted to know what this would do. Would his Pilgrimage be more extravagant with more wealth?
 
What if Mansa Musa and Mali had more accumulated wealth than it in reality did, and it was actually worth more than a trillion modern-day dollars, and Mansa Musa was the first Trillionaire in history. I haven't seen many Trillionare timelines, so I wanted to know what this would do. Would his Pilgrimage be more extravagant with more wealth?
This seems impossible. A trillion dollars is more than 15,000 tons of gold.
 
This seems impossible. A trillion dollars is more than 15,000 tons of gold.

I'd say it's implausible not impossible. I heard Mansa Musa, and his empire was worth 400 billion in today's money. I'm suggesting his wealth is instead 1 trillion dollars spread across his empire, and that he is the first trillionaire in history.
 
This sort of estimates are not reliable and there is good reason to believe that our Egyptian source exaggerated Musa's wealth greatly.

Well let's take it with a grain of salt and say Mansa Musa personally owns a trillion dollars, and the wealth of Mali is greater than our timeline. We can assume that Mali has more than a trillion dollars worth of wealth in this timeline, but Mansa Musa personally owns a trillion dollars, and the nation holds more than a trillion.

Also, I do agree with you that those sources are a bit hard, but it's hard to nail down if he had 400 billion, if he had more, or if he had less. I'm just going off the most popular estimate of 400 billion.
 
Well let's take it with a grain of salt and say Mansa Musa personally owns a trillion dollars, and the wealth of Mali is greater than our timeline.
Where is this wealth coming from? Because you aren't getting that sort of wealth just from West African gold mined through medieval methods (not to mention Mali didn't directly control most of the gold deposits).

I'm just going off the most popular estimate of 400 billion.
Those estimates take medieval sources far too literally, that's what I'm saying.
 
Even if you have that much gold, the geography and technology of the time make it worth less than in later eras. There isn't a whole lot to spend it on. There's only so many artisans and soldiers you can employ in the region before you run out of available manpower.
 
Probably.

He'd have probably contributed even more so to increasing Mali's level of scholarship, trade ties, and urbanization with said pilgrimage.
 
Where is this wealth coming from? Because you aren't getting that sort of wealth just from West African gold mined through medieval methods (not to mention Mali didn't directly control most of the gold deposits).


Those estimates take medieval sources far too literally, that's what I'm saying.

Mali did directly control a lot of gold, but their wealth came from the Salt trade with major powers who wanted the salt, not from mining.

Despite the estimates, the point is, have the disputed Richest man on earth have enough modern day money to equate to 1 trillion dollars, and what he would do with it.
 
Even if you have that much gold, the geography and technology of the time make it worth less than in later eras. There isn't a whole lot to spend it on. There's only so many artisans and soldiers you can employ in the region before you run out of available manpower.

Exactly, it would make much money kind of worthless, but what would a Mali with 1 trillion dollars in today's money mean for the empires future?
 
I would add that Mali also had a virtual monopoly on the western route of sub-saharan to N. Africa/European trade (gold, salt, ivory). If you went by land anywhere west of the Air mountains and needed to trade anything/stop for water you went through Mali territory.
 
I would add that Mali also had a virtual monopoly on the western route of sub-saharan to N. Africa/European trade (gold, salt, ivory). If you went by land anywhere west of the Air mountains and needed to trade anything/stop for water you went through Mali territory.

True.
 
All depends on what he used that wealth for. Had he used it to build up culture/scholarship, infrastructure, conquest or trade, it will shape how West Africa develops in the 14th 15th and 16th centuries
Portuguese traders may find Muslim client states of MALI in Guinea and the Bight of Benin
 
You'd have to factor land owned, slaves, luxury stuff...
He might have been but the very notion of a trillionaire six centuries ago is vague.
Also, bumping after an hour is not great
 
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