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Following the death of his father the Aga Khan IV, Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini has been announced as the new Aga Khan—the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims, a branch of Shia Islam. He was designated as Aga Khan V in his father’s will, which was unsealed yesterday.
“Prince Rahim Aga Khan V is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) through his daughter, Hazrat Bibi Fatima, and the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, Hazrat Ali, the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph of Islam and the first Shia Imam,” the Aga Khan Development Network said in a statement. “Throughout their 1,400 year history, the Ismailis have been led by a living, hereditary Imam. The Ismailis live in over 35 countries and number approximately 12 to 15 million.”
Prince Rahim, the second child and eldest son of the former Aga Khan and his first wife, Sarah Crocker Poole, was born in Geneva. He went to school in the United States, attending high school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, then graduating from Brown University with a degree in comparative literature in 1995.
In 2013, he married American model Kendra Spears, and they have two children: Prince Irfan (b. 2015) and Prince Sinan (b. 2017). The couple divorced in 2022.
The new Aga Khan V “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,” per the New York Times.
He will also lead the Aga Khan Development Network, where he has worked for many years.