Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He has held the position of imam and the title of Aga Khan since 11 July 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III. The Aga Khan claims direct lineal descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, considered an imam in Shia Islam, and Ali's wife Fatima, Muhammad's daughter from his first marriage.
His grandfather, Aga Khan III, states in his memoirs that the Shias had a "need (for) Divine guidance" after the Prophet of Islam's death, this need being fulfilled by the Imamate. According to the Aga Khan III as mentioned in his memoirs, he has actual "Divine power, guidance, and leadership (authority)." The Institution of Imamate has continued to present day with the Aga Khan IV as the 49th Imam of the Ismaili Muslim Community. The Aga Khan is a business magnate with British and Portuguese citizenship, as well as a racehorse owner and breeder.
Aga Khan's net worth has been estimated at $13.3 billion. Forbes describes the Aga Khan as one of the world's fifteen richest royals. He is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, one of the largest private development networks in the world.
Since his ascension to the Imamate of the Nizari Ismailis in 1957, the Aga Khan has been involved in complex political and economic changes which have affected his followers, including the independence of African countries from colonial rule, the expulsion of Asians from Uganda, the independence of Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan from the former Soviet Union and the continuous turmoil in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Aga Khan IV became the first faith leader to address the Joint Session of the Parliament of Canada on 27 February 2014.
The Aga Khan IV is the eldest son of Prince Aly Khan (1911–1960), and his first wife, Princess Taj-ud-dawlah Aga Khan, formerly Joan Yarde-Buller (1908–1997), the eldest daughter of the British peer John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston.
Born in Geneva, Switzerland, on 13 December 1936, Prince Karim was declared healthy despite being born prematurely. His brother, Amyn Aga Khan, was born less than a year later. In 1949, his parents divorced in part due to Prince Aly Khan's extramarital affairs, and Prince Aly Khan shortly after married American actress Rita Hayworth – with whom he had a daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, the half-sister of Aga Khan IV.
The Aga Khan IV also had a half-brother, Patrick Benjamin Guinness (1931–1965), from his mother's first marriage, as Joan Yarde-Buller was previously married to Loel Guinness of the banking Guinnesses.
Prince Karim spent his childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, where his early education was by private tutoring. Prince Karim later attended the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, the most expensive boarding school in the world,[20] for nine years where he ended up with, in his words, "fair grades". As a youngster Prince Karim would have preferred to attend MIT and study science, but his grandfather, Aga Khan III, vetoed the decision and Prince Karim attended Harvard University, where he was elected a member of The Delphic Club. There he majored in Islamic history.
When his grandfather died, the young Prince was thrust into the position of the Aga Khan (IV), and he went from being not only a university student but also replacing his grandfather as the new Nizari Imam. He said about it: "Overnight, my whole life changed completely. I woke up with serious responsibilities toward millions of other human beings. I knew I would have to abandon my hopes of studying for a doctorate in History." He graduated from Harvard University in 1959, two years after becoming the Imam of the Nizari Ismailis, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History (with Cum Laude honours) and his varsity H for football (soccer).
The young Aga Khan was a competitive downhill skier, and skied for Iran in the 1964 Winter Olympics.