Aga Khan IV

File:Aga Khan IV 1964.jpg at the 1964 Winter Olympics]]

Aga Khan IV was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on 13 December 1936, as Prince Karim, 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). His mother was the eldest daughter of the British peer John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston.{{Cite web |last=Leake |first=Natasha |date=13 December 2022 |title=Remembering the Aga Khan: The extraordinary life story of the world's most well-connected royal, who was a close friend of the late Queen Elizabeth |url=https://www.tatler.com/article/aga-khan-life-story-king-charles |access-date=6 February 2025 |website=Tatler |language=en-GB}}

The prince was declared healthy despite being born prematurely.{{cite book|title=The Aga Khans|last=Frischauer|first=Willi|year=1970| publisher=The Bodley Head Ltd| location=London}} His brother, Amyn Aga Khan, was born a year later in 1937. In 1949, his parents divorced in part due to Prince Aly Khan's extramarital affairs,{{cite news|last=Harriman|first=Pamela|title=Lives and Loves: Pamela Harrima|newspaper=The Scotsman, p. S2|date=30 May 2005}} and shortly after, Prince Aly Khan married American actress Rita Hayworth – with whom he had a daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, the half-sister of Aga Khan IV.{{Cite magazine |last=Edwards |first=Anne |date=6 January 2015 |title=Prince Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth's Love Affair |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/1993/06/prince-aly-khan-rita-hayworth?srsltid=AfmBOoqw07DqbFO_iHjQndC-nVg-dzb1bu1u7wVfuXMsGnrwqZTVGEH9 |access-date=6 February 2025 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Rita Hayworth's Children: All About Her Daughters Yasmin and Rebecca |url=https://people.com/all-about-rita-hayworth-children-8671427 |access-date=6 February 2025 |website=People.com |language=en}}

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.{{cite news |title=Prince Karim Aga Khan |first=Paul Evan |last=Ress |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1964/08/10/608042/prince-karim-aga-khan |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=10 August 1964 |access-date=30 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330212730/https://www.si.com/vault/1964/08/10/608042/prince-karim-aga-khan |archive-date=30 March 2018 |url-status=live }}

Prince Karim spent the war years in Nairobi, Kenya,{{cite news |last1=Bates |first1=Stephen |title=Obituary: The Aga Khan |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/09/the-aga-khan-obituary |access-date=9 February 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=9 February 2025}}G. Pascal Zachary, [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/business/yourmoney/08khan.html "Do Business and Islam Mix? Ask Him"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705160052/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/business/yourmoney/08khan.html |date=5 July 2017 }}, New York Times, 8 July 2007 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,{{cite news|title=In Pictures: Europe's Most Expensive Boarding Schools|url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/12/10/europe-boarding-schools-biz-cx_vr_1210boarding_slide_2.html|work=Forbes|access-date=22 April 2012|first=Vidya|last=Ram|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426054928/http://www.forbes.com/2007/12/10/europe-boarding-schools-biz-cx_vr_1210boarding_slide_2.html|archive-date=26 April 2012|url-status=live}} for nine years where he achieved, in his words, "fair grades". Prince Karim was admitted to MIT and wanted to 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 and majored in Islamic history.{{cite web|last=Mann|first=Anthony|title=The Quiet Prince of Islam|url=http://ismaili.net/intervue/790527.html|work=Sunday Telegraph|access-date=21 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611072248/http://ismaili.net/intervue/790527.html|archive-date=11 June 2012|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |last=Stevenson |first=John Fell |date=10 November 1957 |title=My College Room Mate Rules 10 Million |magazine=This Week |location=New York |publisher=Joseph P. Knapp}}{{r|sportsIll64}}

When his grandfather died, the young prince was thrust into the position of the Aga Khan. A university student who was known to be humble by peers became 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 imam, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history (with Cum Laude honours) and his varsity H for the Harvard Crimson men's soccer team.{{cite magazine |author= |date=3 November 1958|title=Khan of Harvard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dz8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA75 |magazine=Life|volume=45|number=18|location=Chicago|publisher=Henry Luce|access-date=20 September 2022}}

The young Aga Khan was a competitive downhill skier, representing Great Britain at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1962 and then Iran in the 1964 Winter Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/countries/IRI/winter/1964/ASK/|title=Iran Alpine Skiing at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games|publisher=sports-reference.com|access-date=15 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723225850/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/countries/IRI/winter/1964/ASK/|archive-date=23 July 2012|url-status=dead}}

Following the death of his grandfather the Aga Khan III, Prince Karim, at the age of 20, became the 49th Imam of the Nizari Ismailis and Aga Khan IV, bypassing his father, Prince Aly Khan, and his uncle, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, who were in direct line to succession. In his will, the Aga Khan III explained the rationale for choosing his eldest grandson as his successor (which marked the second time in the history of the Nizari Ismaili chain of Imamat that a grandson of the preceding Imam – instead of one of his sons – was made the next imam):

In view of the fundamentally altered conditions in the world has provoked many changes, including the discoveries of atomic science, I am convinced that it is in the best interests of the Nizari Ismaili community that I should be succeeded by a young man who has been brought up and developed during recent years and in the midst of the new age, and who brings a new outlook on life to his office."Aly Khān's Son, 20, New Aga Khan", The New York Times, 13 July 1957, p. 1

In light of his grandfather's will, the Aga Khan IV was sometimes referred to by Nizari Ismailis as the "Imam of the Atomic Age".{{cite book | title=Islam's Quiet Revolutionary: The Story of Aga Khan the Fourth| last=Thobani| first=Akbarali| year=1993| publisher=Vantage Press}} The will of the Aga Khan III added that the next Aga Khan, in the first several years of his Imamat, should look to his grandmother, Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, for guidance on general matters pertaining to the Imamat.{{cite web|last=Van Grondelle|first=Marco|title=The Shi'a Imami (Nizari) Ismailis and British Foreign- and Colonial Policy|url=http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/2008-1001-205033/van-grondelle.pdf|publisher=Self|access-date=22 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827014358/http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/2008-1001-205033/van-grondelle.pdf|archive-date=27 August 2010|url-status=dead |quotation="I desire that my successor shall during the first seven years of his Imamate be guided on questions of general Imamate policy by my said wife the Begum Aga Khan who has been familiar for many years with the problems facing my followers and in whose wise judgement I place the greatest confidence."}}

File:Aga Khan IV 1959.jpg, residue from the first nuclear bomb detonation, while visiting the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1959.]]

Upon taking the position of imam, the Aga Khan IV stated that he intended to continue the work his grandfather had pursued in building modern institutions to improve the quality of life of the Nizari Ismailis.{{Cite web|url=https://the.ismaili/his-highness-aga-khan|title=His Highness the Aga Khan|date=25 October 2007|website=the.Ismaili|language=en|access-date=7 May 2019}} Takht nashini (installation of the new imam) ceremonies occurred at several locations over the course of 1957 and 1958. During this time, the Aga Khan emphasized to his followers the importance of fostering positive relations with different ethnicities{{Cite web|url=https://www.akdn.org/about-us/his-highness-aga-khan/biography-his-highness-aga-khan|title=His Highness Aga Khan: Biography|website=AKDN}} – a highly appropriate message considering the racially tense atmosphere in East Africa at the time between Blacks and South Asians. During the Aga Khan's installation ceremonies on the Indian subcontinent, the Aga Khan stressed his commitment to improving the standard of living of Nizari Ismailis and encouraged co-operation with individuals of other religions.{{Cite journal |last=Weisinger|first=Akiva Y.|title=Religious Dictatorship: A Solution for Modernity? The Case of the Aga Khan|url=https://www.academia.edu/6200305 |website=Academia |language=en}}

In 1972, under the regime of President Idi Amin, people of South Asian origin, including Nizari Ismailis, were expelled from Uganda. The South Asians, some of whose families had lived in Uganda for over 100 years, were given 90 days to leave the country.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/7/newsid_2492000/2492333.stm |title=1972: Asians given 90 days to leave Uganda |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=19 April 2012 |date=7 August 1972 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719150554/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/7/newsid_2492000/2492333.stm |archive-date=19 July 2012 |url-status=live }} The Aga Khan phoned his long-time friend, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Trudeau's government agreed to allow thousands of Nizari Ismailis to immigrate to Canada.{{cite journal | last1=Geddes | first1=John | journal=Maclean's | title=A holy man with an eye for connections | url=http://www.macleans.ca/2010/10/27/a-holy-man/ | date=27 October 2010 | access-date=17 April 2012 | df=dmy-all }} The Aga Khan also undertook urgent steps to facilitate the resettlement of Nizari Ismailis displaced from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Burma to other countries.{{cite web|url=http://www.agakhanschools.org/|title=The Aga Khan Schools|website=The Aga Khan Schools|language=en|access-date=7 May 2019}} Most of these Nizari Ismailis found new homes in Asia, Europe, and North America.{{Cite web|url=https://iis.ac.uk/encyclopaedia-articles/ismaili-communities-south-asia|title=Ismaili Communities – South Asia |website=The Institute of Ismaili Studies|access-date=7 May 2019}} Most of the initial resettlement problems were overcome rapidly by Nizari Ismailis due to their educational backgrounds and high rates of literacy, as well as the efforts of the Aga Khan and the host countries, and with support from Nizari Ismaili community programmes.{{cite journal |last1=Anders |first1=Jake |last2=Burgess |first2=Simon |last3=Portes |first3=Jonathan |title=The Long-Term Outcomes of Refugees: Tracking the Progress of the East African Asians |journal=Journal of Refugee Studies |date=1 June 2021 |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=1967–1998 |doi=10.1093/jrs/feaa078 |url=https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article-abstract/34/2/1967/6017992?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false | access-date=7 February 2025| df=dmy-all|hdl=10419/185069 |hdl-access=free }}

The Aga Khan encouraged Nizari Ismailis settled in the industrialised world to contribute towards the progress of communities in the developing world through various development programmes.{{Cite web|url=https://herald.dawn.com/news/1398672|title=Why high hills have a high suicide rate|last=Khan|first=Aurangzaib|date=9 October 2018|website=Herald Magazine|language=en|access-date=7 May 2019}} He described his role as imam as being partly to uplift the material and spiritual wellbeing of Nizari Ismailis – a duty that required an understanding of Nizari Ismailis in the context of their geographic location and their time. He elaborated on this concept in a 2006 speech in Germany, saying "The role and responsibility of an Imam, therefore, is both to interpret the faith to the community, and also to do all within his means to improve the quality, and security, of their daily lives and the people with whom Ismailis share their lives."{{cite book | title=Address by His Highness the Aga Khan to the Tuting Evangelical Academy Upon Receiving the "Tolerance" Award| date=20 May 2006| publisher=akdn.org| location=Germany}} This engagement of the Aga Khan with Nizari Ismailis was said to extend to the people with whom the Nizari Ismailis share their lives, locally and internationally.{{cite book | title=Address by His Highness the Aga Khan at Graduation Ceremony of the Masters of Public Affairs Programme at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris| date=15 June 2007| publisher=akdn.org/speeches/2007June15_en| location=Paris}}

The Aga Khan was one of several Shia signatories of the 2004 Amman Message which gives a broad foundation for defining those denominations of Islam that should be considered as part of the wider Muslim Ummah.[http://ammanmessage.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=42 Aga Khan's official reply to Amman Message] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224193222/http://ammanmessage.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=42 |date=24 February 2012 }}. Ammanmessage.com.

During the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy of 2006, he said:

I have two reactions to the pope's lecture: There is my concern about the degradation of relations and, at the same time, I see an opportunity. A chance to talk about a serious, important issue: the relationship between religion and logic.[http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,442180,00.html SPIEGEL interview with Aga Khan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014144824/http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,442180,00.html |date=14 October 2006 }} – Der Spiegel. 12 October 2006

When the Aga Khan IV was asked about his view on the consumption of alcohol in a 1965 interview with The Sunday Times, he said, in line with Muslim teaching:

Our belief is that the thing which separates man from the animals is his power of thought. Anything that impedes this process is wrong. Therefore, alcohol is forbidden. I have never touched alcohol. But this, to me, is not a puritan prohibition. I don't want to drink. I've never wanted to drink. There's no pressure being placed on me by my religion.{{cite web|title=Weekly Review|work=The Sunday Times|date=December 12, 1965|url=http://www.ismaili.net/intervue/651212.html|access-date=10 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806193711/http://ismaili.net/intervue/651212.html|archive-date=6 August 2011|url-status=live}}

Aga Khan IV became the first faith leader to address the Joint Session of the Parliament of Canada on 27 February 2014.{{cite news|title=A Relationship of Mutual Respect and Admiration: His Highness the Aga Khan Becomes First Faith Leader to Address Joint Session of Canadian Parliament|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rizwan-mawani/mutual-respect-and-admiration_b_4875038.html|access-date=15 March 2014|newspaper=Huffington Post|date=3 March 2014|author=Rizwan Mawani|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315173749/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rizwan-mawani/mutual-respect-and-admiration_b_4875038.html|archive-date=15 March 2014 |url-status=live}}

From 11 July 1982 to 11 July 1983 – to celebrate the Aga Khan's Silver Jubilee, marking the 25th anniversary of his accession to the Imamat – many new social and economic development projects were launched.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/14/world/aga-khan-s-silver-jubilee-bridging-two-worlds.html|title=Aga Khan's Silver Jubilee: Bridging Two Worlds|last1=Cowell|first1=Alan|date=14 October 1982|work=The New York Times|access-date=7 May 2019|last2=Times|first2=Special to The New York|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} These range from the establishment of the US$450 million international Aga Khan University with its Faculty of Health Sciences and teaching hospital based in Karachi,{{Cite journal|last1=Nadeem|first1=Naila|last2=Khawaja|first2=Ranish Deedar Ali|last3=Beg|first3=Madiha|last4=Naeem|first4=Muhammad|last5=Majid|first5=Zain|date=21 March 2013|title=Undergraduate radiology education in private and public teaching hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan: teaching duties, methodologies, and rewards|journal=Advances in Medical Education and Practice|volume=4|pages=31–37|doi=10.2147/AMEP.S40549|issn=1179-7258|pmc=3661265|pmid=23745098 |doi-access=free }} the expansion of schools for girls and medical centres in the Hunza region{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/high-up-on-a-pakistani-mountain-a-success-story-for-moderate-islam/2015/07/22/f0b878d2-2572-11e5-b77f-eb13a215f593_story.html|title=High up on a Pakistani mountain, a success story for moderate Islam|last=Craig|first=Time|newspaper=Washington Post}} (one of the remote parts of Northern Pakistan bordering China and Afghanistan that is densely populated with Nizari Ismailis), to the establishment of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme{{Cite web|url=https://landportal.org/organization/aga-khan-rural-support-programme|title=Aga Khan Rural Support Programme |website=Land Portal|date=30 January 2017 |access-date=7 May 2019}} in Gujarat, India – and the extension of existing urban hospitals and primary health care centres in Tanzania and Kenya.{{Cite journal|url=http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/635711464369507187/WB-SDI-Brief-Tanzania-HEALTH-v6-print.pdf|title=Tanzania Service Delivery Indicators|website=World Bank|date=5 May 2013|pages=1–9|last1=Procee|first1=Paul}}

11 July 2007 to 13 December 2008 marked the 50th Anniversary of the Aga Khan's reign as imam (Golden Jubilee). On this occasion, leaders representing Nizari Ismailis from different areas of the world gathered at his residence to pay homage to the imam.{{Cite web|url=https://the.ismaili/golden-jubilee/golden-jubilee|title=Golden Jubilee|date=25 October 2007|website=the.Ismaili|language=en|access-date=7 May 2019}} As part of the Golden Jubilee, the Aga Khan made official visits to various countries – using the visits to recognize the friendship and longstanding support of certain leaders of state, government, and others, to the Aga Khan and his Nizari Ismaili community, as well as to lay the foundations for certain future initiatives and programmes.{{cite web |url=http://www.theismaili.org/goldenjubilee |title= Golden Jubilee |access-date=22 December 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100109135300/http://www.theismaili.org/GoldenJubilee| archive-date= 9 January 2010 | url-status= live}} Areas of the world visited included the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. During his visit to Houston, Texas, US, he announced the establishment of the Ismaili Center Houston.[https://web.archive.org/web/20100214041130/http://www.theismaili.org/cms/214/Golden-Jubilee-Visits Golden Jubilee: Visits][https://web.archive.org/web/20091206104135/http://www.theismaili.org/cms/749/United-States-of-America-Visit United States of America Visit]

In 2008, as one of the initiatives of the Golden Jubilee, the Aga Khan organized the Jubilee Games: a Nizari Ismaili sports meet in Kenya, to which teams of Nizari Ismailis from different areas of the world came to compete.{{cite web |url=http://www.theismaili.org/gjg |title= Golden Jubilee Games |access-date=22 December 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100101224407/http://www.theismaili.org/gjg| archive-date= 1 January 2010 | url-status= live|date= 20 June 2008 }} The event was first named the Golden Jubilee Games but continued as the Jubilee Games. The second Jubilee Games were held in Dubai, UAE, in July 2016.{{cite web|title=About the Jubilee Games|url=https://www.theismaili.org/jubileegames/about-jubilee-games|date=8 March 2016|access-date=8 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806045146/https://www.theismaili.org/jubileegames/about-jubilee-games|archive-date=6 August 2016|url-status=dead}}

11 July 2017 to 11 July 2018 was designated the Diamond Jubilee Year of the Aga Khan's 60th year of reign.{{cite web|title=Mawlana Hazar Imam's Diamond Jubilee to be celebrated in 2017–18|url=http://www.theismaili.org/news-events/mawlana-hazar-imam%E2%80%99s-diamond-jubilee-be-celebrated-2017-18|date=11 July 2016|access-date=7 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703125253/http://www.theismaili.org/news-events/mawlana-hazar-imam%E2%80%99s-diamond-jubilee-be-celebrated-2017-18|archive-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live}} The Aga Khan travelled throughout the Diamond Jubilee year to countries where his humanitarian institutions operate to launch new programmes that help alleviate poverty and increase access to education, housing and childhood development. The Aga Khan's Diamond Jubilee opening ceremony was held in his Aiglemont estate. On 8 March 2018, Queen Elizabeth II hosted the Aga Khan at Windsor Castle at a dinner to mark his Diamond Jubilee. He visited a number of countries including the United States, UAE, India, Pakistan, Canada, France, UK, Kenya, and others. The Diamond Jubilee was hosted in Lisbon, Portugal, on and around 11 July 2018. Ismailis from around the world came to Lisbon to celebrate with their worldwide community. There were many concerts, a Jubilee Arts festival, and other events planned for tens of thousands of people. Following a historic agreement with the Portuguese Republic in 2015, the Aga Khan officially designated the premises located at Rua Marquês de Fronteira in Lisbon – the Henrique de Mendonça Palace – as the Seat of the Ismaili Imamat on 11 July 2018, and declared that it be known as the "Diwan of the Ismaili Imamat".{{cite web|title=Mawlana Hazar Imam designates the Seat of the Ismaili Imamat|url=https://the.ismaili/news/mawlana-hazar-imam-designates-seat-imamat|date=11 July 2018|access-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831132255/https://the.ismaili/news/mawlana-hazar-imam-designates-seat-imamat|archive-date=31 August 2018|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Isma'ili Constitution}}

In 1986, Aga Khan introduced a universal constitution for his international followers, later amended in 1998. Its preamble affirmed core Islamic beliefs while emphasizing the imamate's role. It highlighted the imam's ta'lim (authoritative teaching), which guides Nizari Ismailis in both spiritual and material matters. The constitution reaffirmed the imam's full authority over religious and communal affairs, to ensure structured guidance and adaptability in practicing their faith amid changing circumstances.{{Cite book |last1=Bowering |first1=Gerhard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q1I0pcrFFSUC&dq=Aga+Khan+IV+enacted+the+Ismaili+Constitution+in+1998&pg=PA23 |title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought |last2=Crone |first2=Patricia |last3=Mirza |first3=Mahan |date=2013 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-13484-0 |pages=23 |language=en}}

File:Racing silks of Aga Khan.svg of the Aga Khan]]

The Aga Khan's racing horse businesses brought in considerable income. He owned and operated the largest horse racing and breeding operation in France, the French horse auction house, Arqana, Gilltown Stud near Kilcullen in Ireland, and other breeding/stud farms in Europe.

The Aga Khan operated a large horse racing and breeding operation at his estate Aiglemont, in the town of Gouvieux in the Picardy region of France – about 4 kilometres ({{frac|2|1|2}} miles) west of the Chantilly Racecourse. In 1977, he paid £1.3 million for the bloodstock owned by Anna Dupré and in 1978, £4.7 million for the bloodstock of Marcel Boussac.[http://www.racehorseowner.com/art/rho-aga-khan.html Aga Khan Bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307050613/http://www.racehorseowner.com/art/rho-aga-khan.html |date=7 March 2014 }}. Racehorseowner.com (13 December 1936). He was said to be France's most influential owner-breeder and record winner of The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks.{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/9337232/Shock-winner-Valyra-earns-the-Aga-Khan-record-seventh-win-in-the-French-Oaks.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=J A | last=McGrath | title=Shock winner Valyra earns the Aga Khan record seventh win in the French Oaks | date=17 June 2012 | access-date=5 April 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019105856/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/9337232/Shock-winner-Valyra-earns-the-Aga-Khan-record-seventh-win-in-the-French-Oaks.html | archive-date=19 October 2017 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}

The Aga Khan owned Gilltown Stud near Kilcullen, Ireland, and the Haras de Bonneval breeding farm at Le Mesnil-Mauger in France. In March 2005, he purchased the Calvados stud farms, the Haras d'Ouilly in Pont-d'Ouilly and the Haras de Val-Henry in Livarot.{{Cite web |url=https://www.arlingtonpark.com/events/arlington-million-day-37th-running/ |title=Arlington Million Day: 37th Running |website=Arlington Park |language=en-US |access-date=7 May 2019}} Haras d'Ouilly had been owned by such horsemen as the Duc Decazes, François Dupré, and Jean-Luc Lagardère.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ymcVAwAAQBAJ&q=Haras+d%27Ouilly%2C+duc+decazes&pg=PA235|title=?talons de pur sang de France|last=Corbi?re|first=Pierre|publisher=Рипол Классик|isbn=978-5883161291|language=fr}}

In 2006 the Aga Khan became the majority shareholder of French horse auction house Arqana.{{cite web|title=Aga Khan: Owner Profile|publisher=RaceHorseOwner.com|location=North Riding, Gauteng, South Africa|date=16 February 2014|url=http://www.racehorseowner.com/art/rho-aga-khan.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307050613/http://www.racehorseowner.com/art/rho-aga-khan.html|archive-date=7 March 2014|url-status=live}}

On 27 October 2009 it was announced that Sea the Stars, regarded by many as one of the greatest racehorses of all time, would stand stud at the Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud in Ireland.[http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/h-h-aga-khan-sea-the-stars-goes-to-aga-khans-gilltown-stud/647353/#newsArchiveTabs=last7DaysNews "Sea The Stars goes to Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927190903/http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/h-h-aga-khan-sea-the-stars-goes-to-aga-khans-gilltown-stud/647353/#newsArchiveTabs=last7DaysNews |date=27 September 2013 }}. racingpost.com (27 October 2009).

His unbeaten homebred filly, Zarkava, won the 2008 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.{{Cite news |last=Wood |first=Greg |date=5 October 2008 |title=Zarkava's triumph brings a new high for Aga Khan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/oct/06/horseracing |access-date=6 February 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} His homebred colt, Harzand, won the 2016 Epsom Derby{{Cite news |last=Wood |first=Greg |date=4 June 2016 |title=Harzand wins Derby after Dermot Weld makes late call to run the colt |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/04/harzand-wins-derby-after-late-call-epsom-classic |access-date=6 February 2025 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}} and the 2016 Irish Derby.{{Cite news |date=25 June 2016 |title=Harzand: Derby double as Epsom winner triumphs at the Curragh |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/horse-racing/36631284 |access-date=6 February 2025 |work=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}

The Aga Khan was the lead owner of Shergar, the Irish racehorse that was kidnapped from Ballymany stud farm in County Kildare, Ireland, by masked men in 1983 and held for ransom. The Aga Khan and the other co-owners refused to pay a ransom, and the horse was not recovered.{{cite web |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=Richard |title=30 Years On: What Happened to Shergar? |url=https://www.rte.ie/sport/racing/2013/0207/366691-asd/ |website=RTE |date=7 February 2013 |access-date=15 September 2020}} The Aga Khan, the police, and the public suspected the Provisional Irish Republican Army of the abduction, though the IRA denied all involvement. In 1999, former IRA member Sean O'Callaghan published an autobiography in which he implicates the IRA as being responsible for the abduction. Shergar had become a national symbol in Ireland, and the IRA had underestimated the public outpouring of support for the horse and the backlash for the IRA even among Irish republicans who had historically supported the IRA, leading the IRA to deny involvement.{{cite book |last1=O'Callaghan |first1=Sean |title=The Informer |date=1999 |publisher=Corgi |location=London |isbn=978-0-552-14607-4}}

The Aga Khan was involved in multiple business ventures, in such areas as communications media and luxury hotels. In 1959 he founded the Kenyan media company Nation Media Group,{{Cite book | edition = 1st Carol Pub. Group | publisher = Birch Lane Pr | isbn = 978-1559722155 | last = Coleridge | first = Nicholas | title = Paper Tigers: The Latest, Greatest Newspaper Tycoons | location = Secaucus, NJ | date = March 1994 }} which among others owns Daily Nation and Sunday Nation.{{cite web | last=Veage | first=John | title=Yesterday in Paradise | website=St George & Sutherland Shire Leader | date=14 February 2017 | url=https://www.theleader.com.au/story/4465802/yesterday-in-paradise/ | access-date=6 January 2024}}

In the 1990s, the Aga Khan had a group of US$400 a night Italian luxury hotels, called Ciga. Through his for-profit AKFED, the Aga Khan was the largest shareholder in the Serena Hotels chain.{{cite news | title=Serena adds Tanzanian link to its hotels chain | last=Wafula | first=Paul | url=http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Serena+adds+Tanzanian+link+to+its+hotels+chain+/-/1006/1278730/-/n0lsu6/-/index.html | newspaper=Daily Nation | date=24 November 2011 | access-date=9 April 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111214014418/http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Serena+adds+Tanzanian+link+to+its+hotels+chain+/-/1006/1278730/-/n0lsu6/-/index.html | archive-date=14 December 2011 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}

{{main|Aga Khan Development Network}}

The Aga Khan was the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, which coordinates the activities of over 200 agencies and institutions, employing approximately 80,000 paid staff, the majority of whom are based in developing countries.{{Cite web|url=https://www.akdn.org/fa|title=Aga Khan Development Network|website=AKDN|access-date=7 May 2019|archive-date=2 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902060551/https://www.akdn.org/fa/|url-status=dead}} AKDN is partly funded by his followers and donor partners that include numerous governments and several international organisations. AKDN agencies operate in the fields of health, education, culture, rural development, institution-building, and the promotion of economic development, with a special focus on countries of the Developing Nations. It is dedicated to improving living conditions and opportunities for the poor, without regard to their faith, origin or sex.{{Cite web|url=https://www.akfusa.org/about-us/|title=About Us|website=Aga Khan Foundation USA|language=en-US|access-date=7 May 2019}}

AKDN includes the Aga Khan University, the University of Central Asia, the for-profit Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the Aga Khan Foundation, the Aga Khan Health Services, the Aga Khan Education Services, the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, and the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance. One of the companies that the AKFED is the main shareholder of is the Serena Hotels Group{{cite web|title=Tourism Promotion Services (TPS)|url=http://www.akdn.org/akfed_tourism.asp|publisher=Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development|access-date=10 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125233044/http://www.akdn.org/akfed_tourism.asp|archive-date=25 January 2012|url-status=dead}} – a chain of luxury hotels and resorts primarily located in Africa and Asia. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is the largest architectural award in the world.{{Cite web|url=https://www.architecturalrecord.com/keywords/Aga%20Khan%20Awards|title=Aga Khan Awards|website=architecturalrecord.com|access-date=7 May 2019}} The Aga Khan was also the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, which he founded in 1977.{{Cite web|url=https://iis.ac.uk/encyclopaedia-articles/institute-ismaili-studies|title=Institute of Ismaili Studies |website=The Institute of Ismaili Studies|access-date=7 May 2019|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411151215/https://www.iis.ac.uk/encyclopaedia-articles/institute-ismaili-studies|url-status=dead}}

Focus Humanitarian Assistance, an affiliate of the AKDN, is responsible for emergency response in the face of disaster. Recent disasters that FOCUS was involved in helping address include the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan ([https://web.archive.org/web/20060422215540/http://www.akdn.org/news/20051905.html AKDN earthquake response]) and the South Asian tsunami.{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32715.pdf|title=Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami:Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Operations|last=Margesson|first=Rhoda|website=FAS}}

Significant recent or current projects that are related to the development and that were being led by the Aga Khan include the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat and the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa,{{cite web |title=The Legal Centre for Pluralism: Who We Are |url=https://www.pluralism.ca/who-we-are/ |website=pluralism.ca |publisher=Global Centre for Pluralism}} the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto,{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Jessica |title=Toronto's Aga Khan Museum is marking a milestone |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/video/2025/01/31/torontos-aga-khan-museum-is-marking-a-milestone/ |access-date=7 February 2025 |publisher=CTV News |date=31 January 2025}} the Al-Azhar Park in Cairo,{{cite news |last1=Rooks |first1=Timothy |title=A green oasis in the land of the pharaohs |url=https://www.dw.com/en/aga-khan-development-network-cairos-al-azhar-park-in-egypt/a-39856816 |access-date=7 February 2025 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=28 July 2017}} the Bagh-e Babur restoration in Kabul,{{cite web |title=Bagh-e Babur: History and Description |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5469/ |website=unesco.org |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=7 February 2025}} the Sunder Nursery in Delhi{{Cite web |title=Sunder Nursery: Before and after |url=https://the.akdn/en/resources-media/multimedia/video/sunder-nursery-and-after |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Aga Khan Development Network |language=en}} and a network of full IB residential schools known as the Aga Khan Academies.{{cite web |last1=Suleman |first1=Aleesha |title=The Aga Khan Academies Exchange Programme: Fostering pluralism within future leaders |url=https://the.akdn/en/resources-media/whats-new/spotlights/aga-khan-academies-exchange-programme-fostering-pluralism-within-future-leaders |website=the.akdn |publisher=Aga Khan Development Network}}

The Aga Khan expressed concern about the work of the AKDN being described as philanthropy. In his address to the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing, when he was awarded their Tolerance Prize in 2006, he described this concern:

Reflecting a certain historical tendency of the West to separate the secular from the religious, they often describe [the work of the AKDN] either as philanthropy or entrepreneurship. What is not understood is that this work is for us a part of our institutional responsibility – it flows from the mandate of the office of Imam to improve the quality of worldly life for the concerned communities.

His Highness the Aga Khan IV named Prince’s Trust Global Founding Patron by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, on 12th March 2019, until 2025.{{Cite web |last=admin@pti |date=2019-03-12 |title=His Highness the Aga Khan Named Prince’s Trust Global Founding Patron |url=https://princestrustinternational.org/his-highness-the-aga-khan-named-princes-trust-global-founding-patron/ |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=The King's Trust International |language=en}} Your Highnesses met at a dinner at Buckingham Palace, where he was thanked for his support. As per the Prince’s Trust Group, In the recent time His Highness's philanthropy and leadership has enabled The Prince’s Trust Group to support over 30,000 young people since 2019.{{Cite web |title=King's Trust Group |url=https://www.kingstrustglobal.org/ |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=King's Trust Group |language=en-US}}

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a founding partner of the Paris Peace Forum. The Forum was launched on the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, marking the end of World War I.{{Cite web |title=Missions and values |url=https://parispeaceforum.org/missions-and-values/ |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=Paris Peace Forum |language=en-US}} By the Forum history, in the early development of the Forum, in 2019 Spring Meeting was organized around President Emmanuel Macron with Founding Members of the Forum such as His Highness the Aga Khan. The Paris Peace Forum is an international multi-stakeholder platform dedicated to global governance solutions. AKDN is a Strategic Partner and represent itself in the Governance of the Forum's Executive Committee and General Assembly.{{Cite web |title=Partners |url=https://parispeaceforum.org/partners/ |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=Paris Peace Forum |language=en-US}}

In 1977, the Aga Khan established the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, an award recognising excellence in architecture that encompasses contemporary design and social, historical, and environmental considerations. It is the largest architectural award in the world (prize money for which is a million US dollars) and is granted triennially.{{Cite web|url=https://www.architects.org/bsaspace/exhibitions/design-diversity-aga-khan-award-architecture|title=Design for Diversity: The Aga Khan Award for Architecture |website=Boston Society of Architects|access-date=7 May 2019|archive-date=7 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507083407/https://www.architects.org/bsaspace/exhibitions/design-diversity-aga-khan-award-architecture|url-status=dead}} The award grew out of the Aga Khan's desire to revitalise creativity in Islamic societies and acknowledge creative solutions for buildings facilities and public spaces.{{Cite web|url=https://www.archdaily.com/916170/shortlist-announced-for-aga-kahn-award-for-architecture-2019|title=Shortlist Announced for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2019|date=1 May 2019|website=ArchDaily|language=en-US|access-date=7 May 2019}} The prize winner is selected by an independent master jury convened for each cycle.{{Cite web|url=https://www.akdn.org/akdn/press-release/winners-2016-aga-khan-award-architecture-celebrate-inclusivity-and-pluralism|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507102159/https://www.akdn.org/akdn/press-release/winners-2016-aga-khan-award-architecture-celebrate-inclusivity-and-pluralism|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 May 2019|title=Winners of the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture celebrate inclusivity and pluralism|website=AKDN|access-date=7 May 2019}}

In 1979, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) established the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA), which is supported by an endowment from Aga Khan. These programs provide degree courses, public lectures, and conferences for the study of Islamic architecture and urbanism. Understanding contemporary conditions and developmental issues are key components of the academic program.{{cite book | title=AKPIA (Academic Brochure)| publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University}} The program engages in research at both institutions and students can graduate with a Master of Science of Architectural Studies specialising in the Aga Khan program from MIT's Department of Architecture.{{Cite web|url=https://akpia.mit.edu/|title=Welcome to AKPIA@MIT |website=AKPIA |access-date=7 May 2019}}

File:2006-06-29 11-44-20 Uganda - Buyira.jpg, Uganda, in 2006]]

In 1964, Sports Illustrated wrote that despite the Aga Khan's reputation as "a gallivanting jet-setter who wants his horses, cars and women to be fast", he avoided most parties, never appeared in gossip columns, and had been associated with only one woman for the previous five years ("an exquisite, publicity-avoiding blonde named Annouchka von Mehks").{{r|sportsIll64}} In 1969, the Aga Khan married former British model Sarah Frances Croker Poole, who assumed the name Begum Salimah Aga Khan upon marrying him. Sarah Frances was a divorcee, having previously been married to Lord James Charles Crichton-Stuart, son of John Crichton-Stuart, 5th Marquess of Bute. The wedding ceremonies were held on 22 October 1969 (civil) and 28 October 1969 (religious) at Karim Aga Khan's home in Paris. By 1984, the Aga Khan and Begum Salimah had taken to living separate lives.{{cite news|last=Hollingsworth|first=Mark|title=Aga in Waiting|url=http://markhollingsworth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/aga.pdf|access-date=9 April 2012|newspaper=ES Magazine|date=March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903223207/http://markhollingsworth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/aga.pdf|archive-date=3 September 2012|url-status=live}} The Aga Khan and Begum Salimah had one daughter and two sons together, Zahra Aga Khan (born 18 September 1970), Rahim Aga Khan (born 12 October 1971), and Hussain Aga Khan (born 10 April 1974).{{Cite book |last=Mohamed |first=H. E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t74QAQAAIAAJ&q=zahra+hussein+%22aga+khan%22 |title=Historical Witnesses to the Ismaili Epoch: The Pluralism in Islam |date=2004 |publisher=Highlight Publications |isbn=978-0-9734108-0-8 |language=en}} In 1994, the couple's divorce was made public.{{Cite book |last=MacCarthy |first=Fiona |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTJjXDA-AlYC&dq=%22Aga+Khan%22+divorce+%221995%22&pg=PA352 |title=Last Curtsey: The End of the Debutantes |date=7 July 2011 |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=978-0-571-26581-7 |pages=352 |language=en}}

On 30 May 1998, the Aga Khan married for the second time at his walled compound and chateau, Aiglemont, in Gouvieux, France. The bride was Gabriele Renate Thyssen, who assumed the name Begum Inaara Aga Khan at her wedding. Born to Roman Catholic German entrepreneur parents in 1963, Gabriele was twenty-seven years younger than the Aga Khan. She was also a divorcee, having previously been married to Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen, by whom she had a daughter, Teresa. On 7 March 2000, two years after the wedding, a son, Aly Muhammad Aga Khan, was born. On 8 October 2004, after six years of marriage, the couple announced they would be getting divorced.[http://www.princessinaara.org/3.html Princess Inaara Foundation] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060512165548/http://www.princessinaara.org/3.html |date=12 May 2006 }}{{cite news |title=Aga Khan faces the $1 billion divorce |work=The Sunday Times |location=London |date=21 November 2004 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article393552.ece |access-date=21 November 2008 |first1=David |last1=Leppard |first2=Robert |last2=Winnett |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320034328/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article393552.ece |archive-date=20 March 2007 |url-status=dead }} In September 2011, seven years later, a divorce settlement was reached between them in the French courts, and the divorce settlement amount was agreed upon in March 2014.{{cite web|title=AP: Aga Khan divorces German princess after dispute|url=https://news.yahoo.com/aga-khan-divorces-german-princess-dispute-154617430.html|website=yahoo.com|date=14 March 2014 |access-date=4 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607010819/https://news.yahoo.com/aga-khan-divorces-german-princess-dispute-154617430.html|archive-date=7 June 2014|url-status=live}}

File:His Highness the Aga Khan (15760993697).jpg

The Aga Khan was an ardent yachtsman. He founded the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, in 1967. Since then, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV served as the Club’s President, guiding it to achievements that have shaped the history of Italian sailing and established the YCCS as an international benchmark in the yachting world. He also owned several yachts, including a 164-foot yacht, Alamshar, named after a prized racehorse of his,{{Cite web |date=5 February 2025 |title=In Memoriam: Serial yacht owner Aga Khan passes away |url=https://www.superyachttimes.com/yacht-news/alamshar-yacht-owner-aga-khan-passes-away |access-date=6 February 2025 |website=Super Yacht Times}} with a price tag of £100 million.{{Cite news |last=Obituaries |first=Telegraph |date=5 February 2025 |title=The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of millions of Ismailis and jet-setting billionaire philanthropist |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2025/02/05/aga-khan-ismaili-muslims-billionaire-racing-turf/ |access-date=6 February 2025 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}

The Aga Khan owned Bombardier jets. In 2005, it was reported that he owned a Bombardier Global Express and another transcontinental jet.{{Cite web |date=26 January 2005 |title=Aga Khan jet sets on a higher plane |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6868603 |access-date=6 February 2025 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

In 2009, Forbes reported that the Aga Khan's net worth was US$1 billion.{{cite news|author1=Pendleton, Devon|author2=Serafin, Tatiana|author3=von Zeppelin, Cristina|date=17 June 2009|title=In Pictures: World's Richest Royals: Prince Karim Al Husseini, Aga Khan|newspaper=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/global/2008/0901/038.html|url-status=live|access-date=26 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131119081304/http://www.forbes.com/global/2008/0901/038.html|archive-date=19 November 2013}} Vanity Fair estimated his fortune to be well over US$1 billion.{{cite news | title=In Pictures: World's Richest Royals: Prince Karim Al Husseini, Aga Khan | author1=Reginato, James | url=http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2013/02/aga-khan-spiritual-leader-multi-billionaire | newspaper=Vanity Fair | date=31 January 2013 | access-date=26 November 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213042511/http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2013/02/aga-khan-spiritual-leader-multi-billionaire | archive-date=13 February 2015 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }} Forbes described the Aga Khan as one of the world's fifteen richest royals, and Vanity Fair said that an estimate of his net worth made shortly before January 2013 was $13.3 billion. He was unique among the richest royals in that he does not preside over a geographic territory. He owned hundreds of racehorses, valuable stud farms, an exclusive yacht club on Sardinia,{{cite magazine | last1=Sarsini |first1=Enrico |date=22 August 1969 |title=Sardinia: The Aga Khan's Emerald Hideaway (photo essay) |magazine=Life | volume=67 | issue= 8 | pages=44–48 | issn=0024-3019 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkwEAAAAMBAJ&q=aga+khan+intitle%3Alife&pg=PA44}} Bell Island in the Bahamas,{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Candace |date=29 July 2011 |title=My Own Private Island |url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424053111903999904576470253369797270 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=28 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107031111/http://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424053111903999904576470253369797270 |archive-date=7 January 2015 |url-status=live }} Bombardier jets customized and designed to suit his Personal Standard, a £100 million high speed yacht Alamshar, and several estates around the world, with his primary residence at Aiglemont estate in the town of Gouvieux, France, north of Paris. The Aga Khan's philanthropic non-profit institutions spend about US$1 billion per year – mainly in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.{{citation |url=https://the.akdn/en/who-we-are |title=Who We are - AKDN |date=8 December 2008 |access-date=11 April 2025}}

Aga Khan IV died in Lisbon, Portugal, on 4 February 2025, at the age of 88.{{cite news |title=The Aga Khan, philanthropist and spiritual leader, dies aged 88 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/04/the-aga-khan-philanthropist-and-spiritual-leader-dies-aged-88 |access-date=4 February 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=4 February 2025}} In his will, he designated his son Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini to succeed him as Aga Khan V, the 50th imam of Isma'ilism.{{Cite web |date=5 February 2025 |title=New Aga Khan named as Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3ndgd6076o |access-date=5 February 2025 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=2025-02-05 |title=Rahim Al-Hussaini is named the new Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims |url=https://apnews.com/article/aga-khan-rahim-alhussaini-8efb5353df62fd6f452ca2935507483c |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=AP News |language=en}} Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and United Nations secretary-general António Guterres were among those publicly paying tribute to the Aga Khan following his death.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-05 |title=Aga Khan, leader of Ismaili Muslims, dies aged 88: foundation |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250205-aga-khan-leader-of-ismaili-muslims-dies-aged-88-foundation |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=France 24 |language=en |agency=Agence France-Presse}}

A private funeral ceremony was held for him in Lisbon on 8 February. Portuguese officials including president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and mayor of Lisbon Carlos Moedas were among the attendees, alongside community leaders and foreign dignitaries including Trudeau and former Spanish king Juan Carlos I.{{Cite web |date=8 February 2025 |title=Aga Khan's funeral service held in Portugal ahead of private burial ceremony in Egypt |url=https://apnews.com/article/portugal-aga-khan-funeral-ceremony-a5c3015b72fa21ccebc1a888e473035f |access-date=8 February 2025 |website=AP News |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=2025-02-08 |title=Trudeau Among Mourners At Aga Khan Memorial Service In Lisbon |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/aga-khan-funeral-lisbon-trudeau-tributes-memorial-2025/33307837.html |access-date=2025-02-08 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en}} On 9 February, he was buried at the Mausoleum of Aga Khan in Aswan, Egypt, also his grandfather's resting place.{{Cite news |date=2025-02-10 |title=Aga Khan, the leader of Ismaili Muslims, laid to rest in Egypt during private burial ceremony |url=https://apnews.com/article/egypt-aga-khan-burial-ismailis-aswan-cde5bf72b5a9f128108abfd805208b7d |access-date=2025-02-10 |work=AP News}}

File:The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Vibhushan Award to His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on April 08, 2015.jpg presents the Padma Vibhushan award to the Aga Khan in New Delhi on 8 April 2015]]

The titles of Prince and Princess are used by the Aga Khans and their children by virtue of their descent from Shah Fath Ali Shah of the Persian Qajar dynasty. The title was officially recognised by the British government in 1938.Edwards, Anne (1996). Throne of Gold: The Lives of the Aga Khans, New York: William Morrow. {{ISBN|0-00-215196-0}}

Author Farhad Daftary wrote of how the honorific title Aga Khan (from Agha and Khan) was first given to Hasan Ali Shah (The Aga Khan I) at the age of thirteen when he as the young Imam with his mother decided to go to the Qajar court in Tehran to obtain justice upon his father's death and was eventually successful. Those who had been involved in murder were punished."At the same time, the Qajar monarch bestowed on him the honorific title (laqab) of Agha Khan (also transcribed as Aqa Khan), meaning lord and master." Daftary additionally commented, "The title of Agha Khan remained hereditary amongst his successors."{{cite book |last=Daftary |first=Farhad |title=The Ismailis: Their History and Doctrines |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-511-35561-5 |edition=2nd |location=Cambridge}}

The style of His Highness was formally granted to the Aga Khan IV by the British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II in 1957 upon the death of his grandfather Aga Khan III, just two weeks after his grandfather unexpectedly made him heir to the family's 1,300-year dynasty, which shows a reflection of the strong relationship which has existed over time between both the Royal families.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-10 |title=The King is pleased to grant the new Aga Khan the title “His Highness” |url=https://www.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2025-02-10/the-king-is-pleased-to-grant-the-new-aga-khan-the-title-his-highness#:~:text=The%20title%20of%20'His%20Highness,after%20he%20succeeded%20his%20grandfather. |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=www.royal.uk |language=en}}

This tradition is also continues today to recognises socio-economic development which make a huge positive impact to communities worldwide by the work of the Ismaili Imams in the fields of interfaith dialogue, education, healthcare, as he acknowledge and appreciate by many as [https://www.thegentlemansjournal.com/article/story-aga-khan-worlds-connected-man/ the world’s most well-connected man] on earth.

Additionally, the style of His Royal Highness was granted in 1959 by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, later overthrown in the Iranian Revolution of 1979,{{cite web|url=http://www.akdn.org/about_honours.asp|title=Aga Khan Development Network – About us: Awards and Honours|access-date=28 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213171832/http://www.akdn.org/about_honours.asp|archive-date=13 February 2009|url-status=dead}} but the Aga Khan preferred to use the style of His Highness.{{London Gazette|issue=57155|page=24 |supp=y|date=31 December 2003}}{{cite web|url=http://www.akdn.org/about_agakhan.asp|title=Aga Khan Development Network – About us: His Highness the Aga Khan|access-date=16 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203095703/http://www.akdn.org/about_agakhan.asp|archive-date=3 December 2010|url-status=dead}}[http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/search/results/3298/Karim%20AGA%20KHAN%20(IV).aspx Forms of Address: His Highness the Aga Khan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617214046/http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/search/results/3298/Karim%20AGA%20KHAN%20(IV).aspx |date=17 June 2013 }} – website Debrett's Over the years, the Aga Khan received numerous honours, honorary degrees, and awards.

• {{Flag|Bahrain}}:
• 70px Member 1st Class of the Order of Bahrain (2003){{cite web|url=http://simerg.com/special-series-his-highness-the-aga-khan-iv/literary-reading-worldwide-honours-for-prince-karim-aga-khan-underline-impact-of-ismaili-imamats-contribution-to-humanity-2/|title=Part I – Worldwide Honours For Prince Karim Aga Khan Underline Impact of Ismaili Imamat's Contribution to Humanity|work=Simerg – Insights from Around the World|access-date=13 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806204721/http://simerg.com/special-series-his-highness-the-aga-khan-iv/literary-reading-worldwide-honours-for-prince-karim-aga-khan-underline-impact-of-ismaili-imamats-contribution-to-humanity-2/|archive-date=6 August 2014|url-status=live|date=13 December 2009}}
• {{Flag|Canada}}:
• 70px Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada (CC, 2005){{cite web |url=http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=8642&t=12&ln=Aga%20Khan |title=Aga Khan, C.C. – Order of Canada |access-date=7 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314025323/http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=8642&t=12&ln=Aga%20Khan |archive-date=14 March 2012 |url-status=live }}
• {{Flag|Comoros}}:
• 70px Grand Cross of the Order of the Green Crescent (1966)
• {{Flag|France}}:
• 70px Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (2018){{Cite web |date=5 February 2025 |title=French president Macron pays tribute to 'inspirational' Aga Khan |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/sports/20250205-french-president-macron-pays-tribute-to-inspirational-aga-khan |access-date=6 February 2025 |website=RFI |language=en}}
• 70px Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (2010)
• {{Flag|India}}:
• 70px Padma Vibhushan (2015){{cite web|url=http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?relid=114952|title=Press Information Bureau – Padma Awards 2015|publisher=Indian Ministry of Home Affairs|access-date=16 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816110637/http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?relid=114952|archive-date=16 August 2017|url-status=live}}
• {{flagicon|Iran|1964}} Iran:
• 70px Grand Cordon of the Order of the Crown (1967)
• 70px Commemorative Medal of the 2500th Anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire (14 October 1971)[http://badraie.com/guests.htm Iran. Host to the World] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305043732/http://badraie.com/guests.htm |date=5 March 2016 }}. Badraie. Retrieved on 27 April 2015.
• {{Flag|Italy}}:
• 70px Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1977){{efn|The Aga Khan is the first Muslim to receive the honour.}}
• 70px Knight of the Order of Merit for Labour (1988)
• {{flag|Ivory Coast}}:
• 70px Grand Cross of the National Order of the Ivory Coast (1965)
• {{Flag|Kenya}}:
• 70px Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya (CGH, 2007)[http://allafrica.com/stories/200708160085.html Kenya: Country Honours Aga Khan (Page 1 of 1)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011220327/http://allafrica.com/stories/200708160085.html |date=11 October 2012 }} – website allAfrica.com
• {{Flag|Madagascar}}:
• 70px Grand Cross 2nd Class of the National Order of Madagascar (1966)
• {{Flag|Mali}}:
• 70px Grand Cross of the National Order of Mali (2008)
• {{Flag|Mauritania}}:
• File:MRT Commander Order of National Merit.png Commander of the National Order of Merit (1960)
• {{Flag|Morocco}}:
• 70px Grand Cordon of the Order of the Throne (1986)
• {{Flag|Pakistan}}:
• 70px Nishan-e-Pakistan (NPk, 1983)
• 70px Nishan-i-Imtiaz (NI, 1970)
• {{Flag|Portugal}}:
• 70px Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty (GCL, 2017)[https://dre.pt/web/guest/pesquisa/-/search/108231492/details/maximized Alvará (extrato) n.º 11/2017] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626192536/https://dre.pt/web/guest/pesquisa/-/search/108231492/details/maximized |date=26 June 2018 }}. Diário da República n.º 189/2017, Série II de 29 September 2017
• 70px Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (GCC, 2005)
• 70px Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (GCM, 1998)
• 70px Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (GCIH, 1960)
• {{Flag|Senegal}}:
• 70px Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion (1982)
• {{Flag|Spain}}:
• 70px Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (1991)[https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-1991-28831 Boletín Oficial del Estado]
• {{Flag|Tajikistan}}:
• 70px Recipient of the Order of Friendship (1998)
• {{Flag|Uganda}}:
• 70px Collar of the Order of the Pearl of Africa (2017){{cite news |title=Mawlana Hazar Imam presented with Uganda's highest honour |url=https://the.ismaili/news/mawlana-hazar-imam-presented-uganda%E2%80%99s-highest-honour |access-date=22 July 2018 |work=The Ismaili |date=8 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722101157/https://the.ismaili/news/mawlana-hazar-imam-presented-uganda%E2%80%99s-highest-honour |archive-date=22 July 2018 |url-status=live }}
• {{Flag|United Kingdom}}:
• 70px Ordinary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE, 2003)
• {{flagicon|Upper Volta|1958}} Upper Volta:
• 70px Grand Cross of the National Order of Upper Volta (1965)
• {{flagicon|Zanzibar|1963}} Zanzibar:
• 70px Grand Cross of the Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar (1957)

• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, Simon Fraser University (2018){{cite web|url=https://www.sfu.ca/university-communications/media-releases/2018/10/ubc-and-sfu-award-honorary-degrees-to-his-highness-the-aga-khan.html|title=UBC and SFU award honorary degrees to His Highness the Aga Khan – University Communications – Simon Fraser University}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of British Columbia (2018){{cite web|url=https://news.ubc.ca/2018/10/17/event-ubc-and-sfu-award-honorary-degrees-to-his-highness-the-aga-khan/|title=Event: UBC and SFU award honorary degrees to His Highness the Aga Khan|date=17 October 2018}}
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of Calgary (2018){{cite web|url=https://www.ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2018-10-19/his-highness-aga-khan-receives-ucalgary-honorary-degree-special-ceremony|title=His Highness the Aga Khan receives UCalgary honorary degree at special ceremony|date=17 October 2018}}
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, McGill University (1983){{cite web|url=https://www.mcgill.ca/secretariat/sites/mcgill.ca.secretariat/files/hondoclistalpha_0.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=7 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722105517/http://www.mcgill.ca/secretariat/sites/mcgill.ca.secretariat/files/hondoclistalpha_0.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2013 }}
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, McMaster University (1987)[http://www.mcmaster.ca/univsec/reports_lists/S_HD_Recipients.pdf Honorary Degree Recipients (Chronological) 1892–Present] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703144417/http://www.mcmaster.ca/univsec/reports_lists/S_HD_Recipients.pdf |date=3 July 2017 }}. McMaster University
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of Toronto (2004){{cite web|url=http://www.magazine.utoronto.ca/all-about-alumni/aga-khan-ed-mirvish-honorary-degree/|title=Aga Khan Receives Honorary Degree – Roberta Jamieson, Ed Mirvish Honorary Degree – Spring 2016 – University of Toronto Magazine|date=5 September 2004 |access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913082306/http://www.magazine.utoronto.ca/all-about-alumni/aga-khan-ed-mirvish-honorary-degree/|archive-date=13 September 2014|url-status=live}}
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of Alberta (2009){{cite web|url=http://www.senate.ualberta.ca/HonoraryDegrees/PastHonoraryDegreeRecipients.aspx|title=Past Honorary Degree Recipients|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185921/http://www.senate.ualberta.ca/HonoraryDegrees/PastHonoraryDegreeRecipients.aspx|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary DUniv degree, University of Ottawa (2012){{cite web|url=https://www.uottawa.ca/president/honorary-doctorates/citations/khan-aga-2012|title=Honorary doctorates – Office of the President – University of Ottawa|access-date=17 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508145741/http://www.uottawa.ca/president/honorary-doctorates/citations/khan-aga-2012|archive-date=8 May 2016|url-status=dead}}
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary D.S.Litt. degree, University of Toronto (2013){{cite web|url=http://news.utoronto.ca/aga-khan-receives-honorary-degree-trinity-college-u-t|title=The Aga Khan receives honorary degree from Trinity College at U of T|work=University of Toronto|access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912233632/http://www.news.utoronto.ca/aga-khan-receives-honorary-degree-trinity-college-u-t|archive-date=12 September 2014|url-status=live}}
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary D.Litt. degree in medieval studies, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (2016){{Cite web |title=PIMS Honours the Aga Khan |url=https://pims.ca/news-item/pims-honours-the-aga-khan/ |access-date=21 September 2019 |website=PIMS |date=June 2016 |language=en}}
• {{Flagu|Pakistan}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of Sindh (1970){{Cite web|title=Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Sindh |url=https://www.akdn.org/speech/his-highness-aga-khan/honorary-doctorate-laws-university-sindh|access-date=22 July 2020|website=AKDN}}
• {{Flagu|Portugal}}: Honorary PhD degree, NOVA University of Lisbon (2017){{cite web|url=http://www.unl.pt/en/calendar/general/honoris-causa-doctorate-his-highness-shah-karim-al-hussaini-prince-aga-khan-20-july|title=-Honoris Causa doctorate of His Highness Shah Karim Al-Hussaini, Prince Aga Khan – 20 July|work=Nova University of Lisbon|access-date=26 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717022118/http://www.unl.pt/en/calendar/general/honoris-causa-doctorate-his-highness-shah-karim-al-hussaini-prince-aga-khan-20-july|archive-date=17 July 2017|url-status=live|date=3 July 2017}}
• {{Flagu|United Kingdom}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of Wales (1993)[http://www.wales.ac.uk/Resources/Documents/Governance/5HonoursandOfficers.pdf Graddedigion er Anrhydedd / Honorary Graduates] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813011305/http://www.wales.ac.uk/Resources/Documents/Governance/5HonoursandOfficers.pdf |date=13 August 2014 }} – website of the University of Wales
• {{Flagu|United Kingdom}}: Honorary D.D. degree, University of Cambridge (2009)[http://www.theismaili.org/cms/735/Eight-hundred-yearold-Cambridge-University-awards-Mawlana-Hazar-Imam-an-honorary-degree Eight hundred year-old Cambridge University awards Mawlana Hazar Imam an honorary degree] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507120431/http://www.theismaili.org/cms/735/Eight-hundred-yearold-Cambridge-University-awards-Mawlana-Hazar-Imam-an-honorary-degree |date=7 May 2010 }}. Theismaili.org.
• {{Flagu|United States}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, Brown University (1996)[http://www.brown.edu/campus-life/events/ogden/previous-ogden-lectures/his-highness-aga-khan Previous Ogden Lectures: His Highness the Aga Khan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117144049/http://www.brown.edu/campus-life/events/ogden/previous-ogden-lectures/his-highness-aga-khan |date=17 November 2015 }} – website of the Brown University
• {{Flagu|United States}}: Honorary LL.D. degree, Harvard University (2008){{cite web|url=http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/07/honoris-causa-html|title=Harvard Magazine|access-date=13 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926231536/http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/07/honoris-causa-html|archive-date=26 September 2013|url-status=live|date=July 2008}}

• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Key to the City of Ottawa (2005)
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary Canadian citizenship (2010){{cite hansard|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2&DocId=4012641#SOB-2849627|title=House of Commons Debates: 40th Parliamenet, 2nd Session|date=19 June 2009|house=House of Commons|access-date=26 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507121741/http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4012641&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2#SOB-2849627|archive-date=7 May 2013|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Halfnight|first=Adam McDowell and Drew|url=http://www.nationalpost.com/Harper+makes+Khan+honorary+Canadian/3084925/story.html|title=Harper makes Aga Khan honorary Canadian|newspaper=National Post|date=27 May 2010|access-date=13 April 2020|language=en-CA|issn=1486-8008}}
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Key to the City of Toronto (2022){{Cite web |date=25 September 2022 |title=His Highness the Aga Khan honoured with a Key to the City and ceremonial street renaming |url=https://www.toronto.ca/news/his-highness-the-aga-khan-honoured-with-a-key-to-the-city-and-ceremonial-street-renaming/ |access-date=18 March 2024 |website=City of Toronto |language=en-CA}}
• {{Flagu|Canada}}: Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Ottawa (2025){{Cite web |last=Canada |first=2025 Honorary Fellows |date=2025-03-07 |title=His Late Highness Prince Aga Khan IV was inducted as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada |url=https://raic.org/2025-honorary-fellows#:~:text=The%20remarkable%20accomplishments%20of%20His%20Late%20Highness%20Prince%20Karim%20Aga%20Khan%20IV |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=Royal Architectural Institute of Canada |language=en}}
• {{Flagu|France}}: Silver Medal of the Académie d'Architecture (1991)
• {{Flagu|France}}: Insignia of Honour, International Union of Architects (2001)
• {{Flagu|France}}: Associate Foreign Member, Académie des Beaux-Arts (2008)
• {{Flagu|France}}: Philanthropic Entrepreneur of the Year, by Le Nouvel Économiste, Paris (2009)
• {{Flagu|Germany}}: Die Quadriga Award, the United We Care Award (2005)
• {{Flagu|Germany}}: Tolerance Prize of the Evangelical Academy of Tutzing (2006)
• {{Flagu|Italy}}: Honorary Citizen of the Town of Arzachena (Sardinia) (1962)
• {{Flagu|Italy}}: Gold Mercury Ad Personam Award, non-state organization (1982)
• {{flag|Ivory Coast}}: Freeman of Abidjan, and presented with a Key to the City of Abidjan (1960)
• {{flag|Jordan}}: One of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the world, by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (2009–13){{Cite web |title=The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims, 2013/14 |url=https://themuslim500.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/TheMuslim500-2013-low.pdf |website=The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre |isbn=}}
• {{Flagu|Kazakhstan}}: State Award for Peace and Progress (2002)
• {{Flagu|Kazakhstan}}: Honoured Educator of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2008)
• {{Flagu|Kenya}}: Honorary Citizen of the Town of Kisumu (1981)
• {{Flagu|Madagascar}}: Key to the city of Majunga (1966)
• {{Flagu|Mali}}: Honorary Citizen of the Islamic Ummah of Timbuktu (2003)
• {{Flagu|Mali}}: Citizen of Honour of the Municipality of Timbuktu (2008)
• {{Flagu|Pakistan}}: Honorary Colonel of the 6th Lancers by the Pakistani Army (1970)
• {{Flagu|Pakistan}}: Honorary Citizen of Lahore, and presented with a key to the city of Lahore (1980)
• {{Flagu|Pakistan}}: Honorary Membership, Pakistan Medical Association, Sindh (1981)
• {{Flagu|Pakistan}}: Key to the city of Karachi (1981)
• {{Flagu|Pakistan}}: Honorary Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) (1985)
• {{Flagu|Portugal}}: Key to the City of Lisbon (1996)
• {{Flagu|Portugal}}: Foreign Member, Class of Humanities, by Lisbon Academy of Sciences (2009)
• {{Flagu|Portugal}}: 2013 North–South Prize of the Council of Europe (2014){{Cite web |title=Aga Khan and Suzanne Jabbour receive North-South Centre Prize |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/aga-khan-and-suzanne-jabbour-receive-north-south-centre-prize |access-date=6 February 2025 |website=Council of Europe |language=en-GB}}
• {{Flagu|Portugal}}: Key to the City of Porto (2019){{Cite web |last=Lusa |first=Agência |title=Morreu Aga Khan, o homem discreto e carismático que liderou os muçulmanos xiitas ismailis |url=https://observador.pt/2025/02/04/morreu-aga-khan-lider-dos-muculmanos-xiitas-ismailis/ |access-date=6 February 2025 |website=Observador |language=pt-PT}}
• {{Flagu|Scotland}}: Carnegie Medal for Philanthropy (2005)
• {{Flagu|Spain}}: Guest of Honour of Granada (1991)
• {{Flagu|Spain}}: Honorary Citizen of Granada (1991)
• {{Flagu|Spain}}: Gold Medal of the City of Granada (1998)
• {{Flagu|Spain}}: Royal Toledo Foundation (Real Fundación de Toledo) Award (2006)
• {{Flagu|Sweden}}: Archon Award, International Nursing Honour Society, Sigma Theta Tau International (2001)
• {{Flagu|Tanzania}}: Honorary Citizen of Dar es Salaam (2005)
• {{Flagu|United Kingdom}}: The Gold Mercury International "AD PERSONAM" Award (1982)
• {{Flagu|United Kingdom}}: Honorary Fellowship, Royal Institute of British Architects (1991)
• {{Flagu|United Kingdom}}: Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy (2005)
• {{Flagu|United Kingdom}}: Winner of the 10th annual Peter O'Sullevan Award at the Savoy in London (2006)
• {{Flagu|United States}}: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Medal in Architecture, University of Virginia (1984)
• {{Flagu|United States}}: Institute Honor of the American Institute of Architects (1984)
• {{Flagu|United States}}: Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects (1992)
• {{Flagu|United States}}: Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1996){{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=6 April 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110510021801/http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf| archive-date=10 May 2011 | url-status= live}}
• {{Flagu|United States}}: Hadrian Award, World Monuments Fund (1996)
• {{Flagu|United States}}: Vincent Scully Prize, National Building Museum (2005)
• {{Flagu|United States}}: Key to the City of Austin (2008)
• {{Flagu|United States}}: UCSF medal (2011){{cite web |title=UCSF Medal |url=https://chancellor.ucsf.edu/chancellor-awards/ucsf-medal |website=Office of the Chancellor |access-date=1 July 2020 |language=en}}
• {{Flagu|United States}}: Key to the City of Sugar Land, Texas (2018)
• {{Flagu|United States}}: ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, Los Angeles (2011)
• {{Flagu|Uzbekistan}}: Honorary Citizen of the City of Samarkand and presented with a key to the city of Samarkand (1992)

{{ahnentafel

|collapsed=yes |align=center

|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;

|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;

|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;

|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;

|1= 1. Aga Khan IV

|2= 2. Prince Aly Khan

|3= 3. Princess Taj-ud-dawlah

|4= 4. Aga Khan III

|5= 5. Cleope Teresa Magliano

|6= 6. John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston

|7= 7. Jessie Smither

|8= 8. Aga Khan II

|9= 9. Begum Shams al-Muluk

|12= 12. John Yarde-Buller, 2nd Baron Churston

|13= 13. Barbara Yelverton

|14= 14. Alfred John Smither

|15= 15. Jessica Henrietta Pococke

}}

{{chart top|text-align=left|collapsed=yes|Patrilineal descent{{Cite web|url=https://ismailignosis.com/2016/07/09/the-aga-khans-direct-descent-from-prophet-muhammad-historical-proof/ |title=The Aga Khan's Direct Descent from Prophet Muhammad: Historical Proof |website=Ismaili Gnosis |date=9 July 2016 |access-date=8 October 2019 }}}}

Shah Karim al-Hussaini Aga Khan's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son.

;Nizari Imams of the Fatimid Dynasty

1. Adnan
2. Ma'ad ibn Adnan
3. Nizar ibn Ma'ad
4. Mudar ibn Nizar
5. Ilyas ibn Mudar
6. Mudrikah ibn Ilyas
7. Khuzayma ibn Mudrika
8. Kinanah ibn Khuzayma
9. An-Nadr ibn Kinanah
10. Malik ibn Al-Nadr
11. Fihr ibn Malik
12. Ghalib ibn Fihr
13. Lu'ayy ibn Ghalib
14. Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy
15. Murrah ibn Ka'b
16. Kilab ibn Murrah b. ca. 372
17. Qusay ibn Kilab ca. 400-ca. 480
18. Abd Manaf ibn Qusai
19. Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, ca. 464-ca. 497
20. Abd al-Muttalib, ca. 497–578
21. Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib, 535–619
22. 4th Caliph and 1st Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib, 601–661, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad
23. 2nd Imam Husayn ibn Ali, 626–680
24. 3rd Imam Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, 659–713
25. 4th Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, 677–733
26. 5th Imam Jafar al-Sadiq, ca. 702–765
27. 6th Imam Ismail ibn Jafar, ca. 722-ca. 762
28. 7th Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail, 740–813
29. 8th Imam Ahmad al-Wafi, 795/746-827/828
30. 9th Imam Muhammad at-Taqi (Isma'ili), 813/814-839/840
31. 10th Imam Radi Abdullah, 832–881
32. 11th Imam Caliph Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, 873–934
33. 12th Imam Caliph Al-Qa'im, 893–946
34. 13th Imam Caliph Al-Mansur Billah, 914–953
35. 14th Imam Caliph Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah, 932–975
36. 15th Imam Caliph Al-Aziz Billah, 955–996
37. 16th Imam Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, 985–1021
38. 17th Imam Caliph Ali az-Zahir, 1005–1036
39. 18th Imam Caliph Al-Mustansir Billah, 1029–1094
40. 19th Imam Nizar al-Mustafa, 1045–1095
41. 20th Imam Ali Al-Husayn Al-Hadi, 1076–1132
42. 21st Imam Al-Muhtadi, Muhammad I, 1106–1157
43. 22nd Imam Al-Qahir, Hasan I, 1126–1162
44. 23rd Imam Hassan II of Alamut (also referred to as 'Alā Zikrihi-s-Salām), 1142/1145-1166
45. 24th Imam Muhammad II of Alamut, 1148–1210
46. 25th Imam Hassan III of Alamut, 1187–1221
47. 26th Imam Muhammad III of Alamut, 1211–1255
48. 27th Imam Rukn al-Din Khurshah, ca. 1230-1256/1257
49. 28th Imam Shams al-Din (Nizari), 1257–1310
50. 29th Imam Qasim Shah, 1310–1368
51. 30th Imam Islam Shah, d. 1424
52. 31st Imam Muhammad ibn Islam Shah, d. 1464
53. 32nd Imam Ali Shah Qalandar, al-Mustansir Billah II, d. 1480
54. 33rd Imam Abd-us-Salam Shah, d. 1494
55. 34th Imam Abbas Shah Gharib, al-Mustansir Billah III, d. 1498
56. 35th Imam Abuzar Ali Nur Shah, d. ca. 1509
57. 36th Imam Murād Mīrzā, d. 1574
58. 37th Imam Dhu-l-Fiqar Ali Zulfiqar Ali, Khalilullah I, d. 1634
59. 38th Imam Nur al-Din Ali, d. 1671
60. 39th Imam Ali, Khalilullah II, d. 1680
61. 40th Imam Shah Nizar II, d. 1722
62. 41st Imam Sayed Ali, d. ca. 1736
63. 42nd Imam Al-Hassan Ali Beg, d. ca. 1747
64. 43rd Imam Sayed Jafar, Al-Qasim Ali, d. ca. 1756
65. 44th Imam Abū-l-Hasan ʻAlī, d. 1792
66. 45th Imam Shah Khalilullah III, 1740–1817
67. 46th Imam Hasan Ali Shah, Aga Khan I, 1804–1881
68. 47th Imam Aqa Ali Shah, Aga Khan II, 1830–1885
69. 48th Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, 1877–1957
70. Prince Sayyid Aly Khan, 1911–1960
71. 49th Imam Shah Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, 1936–2025

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The Aga Khan is mentioned in the 1969 Peter Sarstedt song Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/peter-sarstedt-who-sang-the-60s-hit-where-do-you-go-to-my-lovely-dies-at-75/2017/01/09/7904b07a-d67a-11e6-b8b2-cb5164beba6b_story.html |title=Peter Sarstedt, who sang the '60s hit 'Where Do You Go To (My Lovely),' dies at 75 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

• Aga Khan affair, a 2017 political scandal in Canada involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Aga Khan IV.

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• {{IMDb name| 2836173}}
• [https://qz.com/1025313/a-rare-interview-with-the-aga-khan-on-poverty-climate-change-and-demistifying-islam/ Interview with Aga Khan] in Quartz

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