Spiritual leader Aga Khan dies at 88

The Aga Khan, known for his horse racing triumphs, staggering wealth and global development work, has died in Lisbon at the age of 88. An announcement of his designated successor will follow. The Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary imam and spiritual leader of the world’s 15 million Ismaili Muslims. The international figure, who held British, French, Swiss and Portuguese citizenship, has also invested millions in helping people in the world’s poorest parts, reported by Reuters.

The billionaire was also known for his private jets, a $200 million superyacht and a private island in the Bahamas. His fortune is estimated to be between $800 billion and $13 billion. His money comes from a family inheritance, horse racing and personal investments in tourism and real estate. His name has also become synonymous with success in horse racing. He owned some of the finest racehorses, among his most famous being the thoroughbred Shergar.

The Aga Khan helped the poor through business

By helping the poor through business, he said, he developed a defense against extremism. Prince Shah Karim Al-Husseini was born on December 13, 1936, in Geneva, and spent his early childhood in Nairobi, Kenya. He later returned to Switzerland, attended the exclusive Le Rosey school, and then went to the United States to study Islamic history at Harvard.

When his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, died in 1957, he became the imam of the Ismaili Muslims, a branch of Shia Islam, at the age of 20. His grandfather chose Karim as his successor over his own son. The Ismailis believed that he was a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, Ali, the first Imam, and his wife Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter.

The Aga Khan Development Network

He was the fourth holder of the title of head of the Ismaili community, whose members live in Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and North America. After his father died in May 1960, the Aga Khan initially considered continuing his family’s long tradition of racing and breeding thoroughbreds. But after winning the French Owners’ Championship in his first season, he became enthusiastic.

His stables and jockeys, dressed in his emerald green silk livery, achieved great success with horses such as Sea the Stars, who won the Epsom Derby and the 2000 Guineas; and Sinndar, who also won the Epsom Derby, the Irish Derby and the Prix du Arc de Triomphe in the same year 2000. But perhaps his most famous horse was Shergar, who won the Epsom Derby, the Irish Derby and the King George.

The Aga Khan founded the Aga Khan Development Network in 1967. The group of international development agencies employs 80,000 people, helping to build schools and hospitals and provide electricity to millions of people in the poorest parts of Africa and Asia. He has combined his development work with private business, owning, for example, a pharmaceutical company and a bank in Uganda.