I’d say that he was (by modern standards) a hero.
Following his pilgrimage, Mansa Musa brought back scholars, bureaucrats, and architects to contribute to the Mali Empire; Islamic education flourished in the form of mosques, libraries, and universities. He also supported the active trade of gold and salt in and out of the Mali Empire to usher in enormous wealth and established religious freedom (and so on).
I mean, his name does translate to king of kings,” too (lol).
