Prince Rahim al-Hussaini, a son of the Aga Khan IV, was named as his successor on Wednesday, inheriting the role of spiritual leader of millions of Ismaili Muslims around the world.
Rahim, 53, became the fifth Aga Khan and the 50th imam of the Nizari Ismaili branch of Shia Islam, whose leaders claim descent from the Prophet Muhammad. There are only 12 million to 15 million Ismailis, but the community has had an outsize impact through their institutions — among them hospitals and universities — and humanitarian work.
“My expectation would be that there is a continuation of that legacy, because it is ingrained in Islam and it is substantiated in these institutions,” said Eboo Patel, the founder and president of Interfaith America, who studied Ismaili institutions for his doctorate at Oxford University.
The new imam was named in the will, unsealed on Wednesday, of his father, Karim al-Hussaini, the Aga Khan IV, who died at age 88 on Tuesday. Through the Aga Khan Development Network, founded by his father, the new Aga Khan has focused much of his work on the climate crisis.
He will take over a vast portfolio. The family and Ismaili institutions are stunningly wealthy: Estimates of the fortune have ranged from $1 billion to $13 billion, with holdings ranging from airlines to real estate to newspapers.
The late Aga Khan rubbed elbows with royalty, owned racehorses and flew on private jets, and was widely admired for building institutions and doing philanthropic work.
New York Times News Service
