One of my favourite facts is that the renaissance only really happened because a ruler of Mali (Mansa Musa) was over generous with his gold. He gave away a minimum of $600,000,000 worth of gold (in today's prices) and also built a mosque every friday whilst on Hajj. It sent the value of gold in the middle east way down, so the Italians got very rich, because it was still worth a lot in Europe.
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. - J.R.R Tolkien