Ismaili Muslim Leader Aga Khan Dies
The Aga Khan Development Foundation announced on Tuesday that Imam Karim Aga Khan, the head of the Ismaili sect of Muslims, has died “peacefully” in Lisbon at the age of 88.
“His Eminence Prince Karim Al-Husseini, Aga Khan IV, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, passed away peacefully in Lisbon on 4 February 2025 at the age of 88,” the Aga Khan Foundation said in a post on social media.
His foundation also said that “his designated successor will be announced shortly.”
Who was Karim Aga Khan?
Karim Aga Khan’s followers considered him a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. At the age of 20, his father died while he was an undergraduate at Harvard, and he became the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslim sect.
The Aga Khan Foundation has spent billions of dollars building homes, hospitals and schools in developing countries.
According to the foundation’s website, the Ismaili community is currently experiencing a significant decline in its population, particularly in Central and South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The number is about 12 to 15 million.
Of this, about half a million people live in Pakistan, while they also have large populations in India, Afghanistan and Africa. It is a branch of Shia Islam.
Aga Khan Aga Khan, a Billionaire spiritual leader
According to Forbes magazine, in 2008, Prince Aga Khan’s wealth was estimated to be more than one billion US dollars, which he inherited.
He later expanded this wealth through a number of business interests, including horse breeding.
He was a leading owner of racehorses in Britain, France and Ireland and also bred the Shergar breed of horses, which was once the most famous and valuable horse in the world.
The Aga Khan held both British and Portuguese citizenship and the Ismaili leadership lives in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, where they are also an important community.
Despite his role as the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, he avoided speaking about Middle Eastern conflicts, religious fundamentalism or Sunni-Shia tensions.
Prince Aga Khan was born in Switzerland and lived for many years in a luxurious palace in France.
He lived a lavish lifestyle with a private island in the Bahamas, a superyacht and a private jet.
The Aga Khan’s charities ran hundreds of hospitals, educational and cultural projects in the developing world. He was also a friend of Britain’s Prince Charles and his mother, Queen Elizabeth.
Reaction to the death
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres paid tribute to the spiritual leader on his death.
He said he was “deeply saddened” by the news. He described the Aga Khan as “a symbol of peace, tolerance and compassion in our troubled world”.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and education campaigner Malala Yousafzai said the Aga Khan’s legacy “will live on through his incredible leadership work for education, health and development around the world.”
