The Aga Khan IV, leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims, who fused entrepreneurship and philanthropy to become one of the world’s wealthiest hereditary rulers, died on Tuesday in Lisbon. He was 88.
His death was confirmed by his Aga Khan Development Network in a post on X, the social media site. No cause was given.
Urbane, cosmopolitan and often media-averse, the Aga Khan — Prince Karim Al-Hussaini — rejected the notion that expanding his personal fortune would conflict with his charitable ventures, saying his ability to prosper complemented his duty to enhance the lives of Ismaili Muslims, a branch of the Shiite tradition of Islam with a following of 15 million people in 35 countries.
An imam, or leader of his faith, was “not expected to withdraw from everyday life,” he once said after becoming the Aga Khan. “On the contrary, he’s expected to protect his community and contribute to their quality of life. Therefore, the notion of the divide between faith and world is foreign to Islam.”
His projects included developing the island of Sardinia’s ritzy Costa Smeralda resort area, breeding thoroughbred racehorses and establishing health initiatives for the poor in the developing world.
He took issue with descriptions of his lifestyle as lavish, though he traveled on his own private jets, ran his own luxury yacht, owned a private Caribbean island and shuttled among a variety of residences, including Aiglemont, a sprawling estate north of Paris that became the headquarters of his development network and a training center for his horses.
“The role and responsibility of an imam,” he said in a speech in 2006, “is both to interpret the faith to the community and also to do all within his means to improve the quality, and security, of their daily lives.”
Even though he had no inherited realm in the manner of other hereditary rulers, the Aga Khan’s fortune was variously estimated at $1 billion to $13 billion, drawn from investments, joint ventures, private holdings in luxury hotels, airlines, newspapers and a kind of Quranic tithe known as zakat, levied on his followers.
Unusually, the Aga Khan — often translated as a blend of Turkish and Persian meaning commanding chief — inherited his title from his grandfather the Aga Khan III, who bypassed his other descendants to name his grandson as his successor. With his assumption of the leadership as 49th imam of Ismaili Muslims, the Aga Khan IV took the reins of a Shia Muslim lineage that claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammad and imposed what he depicted as clear responsibilities on him.
A full obituary will appear shortly.
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