He Became Spiritual Leader at Tender Age of 20

The Aga Khan, who became the spiritual leader of millions of Ismaili Muslims at age 20 as a Harvard undergrad and poured billions of dollars in tithes into building homes, hospitals, and schools in developing countries, has died. He was 88, per the AP. His Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili religious community announced that His Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, the Aga Khan IV and 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, died Tuesday in Portugal. His successor was designated in his will, which will be read to his family and senior religious leaders in Lisbon before the name is made public. The successor is chosen from among his male progeny or other relatives.

Considered by his followers to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the Aga Khan was a student when his grandfather passed over his playboy father as his successor to lead the diaspora of Shia Ismaili Muslims, saying his followers should be led by a young man "who has been brought up in the midst of the new age." Treated as a head of state, the Aga Khan was given the title of "His Highness" by Queen Elizabeth in July 1957, two weeks after his grandfather the Aga Khan III unexpectedly made him heir to the family's 1,300-year dynasty. He'd left Harvard to be at his ailing grandfather's side and returned to school 18 months later with an entourage and a deep sense of responsibility.

"I was an undergraduate who knew what his work for the rest of his life was going to be," he told Vanity Fair in 2012. "I don't think anyone in my situation would have been prepared." He was widely regarded as a builder of bridges between Muslim societies and the West. The Aga Khan Development Network, his main philanthropic organization, deals mainly with health care, housing, education, and rural economic development. The extent of his financial empire is hard to measure; some reports estimate his personal wealth to be in the billions. The Ismailis—a sect originally centered in India but which expanded to large communities in East Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East—consider it a duty to tithe up to 10% of their income to him as steward. He's survived by three sons and a daughter.

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