  The globular cluster (GC) 47 Tuc has recently been proposed to host an
intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) or a population of stellar-mass black holes
(BHs). To shed light on its dark content, we present an application of
self-consistent multimass models with a varying mass function and content of
stellar remnants, which we fit to various observational constraints. Our
best-fitting model successfully matches the observables and correctly predicts
the radial distribution of millisecond pulsars and their gravitational
accelerations inferred from long-term timing observations. The data favours a
population of BHs with a total mass of $430^{+386}_{-301}$ $M_{\odot}$, but the
most likely model has very few BHs. Since our models do not include a central
IMBH and accurately reproduce the observations, we conclude that there is
currently no need to invoke the presence of an IMBH in 47 Tuc. The global
present-day mass function inferred is significantly depleted in low-mass stars
(power-law slope $\alpha=-0.52^{+0.17}_{-0.16}$). Given the orbit and predicted
mass-loss history of this massive GC, the dearth of low-mass stars is difficult
to explain with a standard initial mass function (IMF) followed by long-term
preferential escape of low-mass stars driven by two-body relaxation, and
instead suggests that 47 Tuc may have formed with a bottom-light IMF. We
discuss alternative evolutionary origins for the flat mass function and ways to
reconcile this with the low BH retention fraction. Finally, by capturing the
effect of dark remnants, our method offers a new way to probe the IMF in a GC
above the current main-sequence turn-off mass, for which we find a slope of
$-2.49\pm0.08$.
