Half-British prince Rahim al-Hussaini has been named the new Aga Khan, becoming the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims and taking over a philanthropic empire worth $13 billion.
Rahim becomes Aga Khan V following the death of his father, Karim al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV, in Lisbon aged 88, earlier this month. Ismaili Muslims are a sect within Shia Islam with a distinct interpretation of the Quran.
The 53 year-old is the eldest son of Aga Khan IV and his first wife, Princess Salimah, formerly Sarah Croker Poole, a British ex-model. The couple divorced in 1995, and the Aga Khan IV subsequently married Gabriele Thyssen, a German singer.
Rahim lives in Switzerland and has two sons with former American fashion model Kendra Spears, whom he married in 2013. Spears converted to Islam and was known as Princess Salwa Aga Khan until the couple divorced in 2022.
The prince, who has two brothers and one sister, has largely maintained a private profile but his transition to imamship and leadership of the philanthropic endeavours of the Aga Khan Foundation is bound to thrust him into the limelight.
He studied in the US and has played a significant role in his father’s Aga Khan Development Network, particularly in environmental and climate-related initiatives.
Rahim will inherit a vast portfolio, with assets spanning airlines, real estate and media.
The Aga Khan is believed by Ismaili Muslims to be a direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad and is treated as head of the global community.
The Ismaili Muslims turn to the Aga Khan for matters of faith and daily life and have settled across Central Asia, the Middle East, as well as Europe, North America and Australia.
Members contribute a portion of their earnings – 12.5 per cent – to support AKDN’s initiatives. Established in 1967, it operates in over 30 countries, focusing on education, healthcare, and rural economic development, with an annual budget of about $1bn.
“Throughout their 1,400-year history, the Ismailis have been led by a living, hereditary Imam,” AKDN said in a statement. “The Ismailis live in over 35 countries and number approximately 12 to 15 million.
Some of the key development agencies under AKDN include Aga Khan Health Services, Aga Khan Schools, the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance, the Aga Khan Foundation, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, along with two universities: Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia.
The late Aga Khan was invited to India in 2018 to celebrate his Diamond Jubilee and inaugurate the Sunder Nursery in Delhi. In 2013, he visited to open the restored Humayun’s Tomb. In 2015, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour.
In July 1957, Aga Khan IV was honoured with the title of “His Highness” by Queen Elizabeth II, two weeks after his grandfather, Aga Khan III, unexpectedly named him heir to the family’s 1,300-year-old dynasty and leader of the Ismaili Muslim sect, treating him as a head of state.
