Mansa Musa, the 14th-century emperor of the Mali Empire, is often cited as one of the richest individuals in history due to the vast quantities of gold he possessed. While exact figures are difficult to ascertain, historical accounts suggest that during his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, Mansa Musa brought a significant amount of gold with him—estimates often range from 100 to 300 pounds of gold.
For the sake of this calculation, if we assume Mansa Musa brought 200 pounds of gold, we can perform the following steps:
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Determine the current price of gold: As of October 2023, the price of gold varies, but let’s say it is approximately $1,900 per ounce.
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Convert the price of gold to pounds: Since there are 16 ounces in a pound, the price per pound of gold would be: \[ 1900 \text{ USD/ounce} \times 16 \text{ ounces/pound} = 30,400 \text{ USD/pound} \]
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Calculate the total value of gold Mansa Musa took: If he took 200 pounds of gold, the total value would be: \[ 30,400 \text{ USD/pound} \times 200 \text{ pounds} = 6,080,000 \text{ USD} \]
Based on these calculations, if Mansa Musa took approximately 200 pounds of gold with him, it would be worth about $6.08 million today, according to this specific price of gold.
Please adjust the number of pounds taken according to different estimates or the current price of gold, if needed, to refine this calculation.