Aga Khan V


Shah Rahim al-Hussaini, known as the Aga Khan V, is a religious leader, philanthropist, and businessman. He is the 50th hereditary Imam of the Shia Nizari Isma'ili Muslims, a branch of Islam. He is the descendant from Muhammad through his daughter, Fatima, and his cousin and son-in-law, Ali. The Qasimi Nizari Ismailis maintain that they are the only Shi‘i group today led by a living, present, hereditary Imam.
He is the second of four children of Khan IV|Shah Karim al-Husseini], who went by the title Aga Khan IV, and succeeded as the Nizari Imam following his father's death on 4 February 2025. He is the fifth person in the family to hold the title Aga Khan. Upon assuming the Imamate, he inherited his father's estate, which had been valued at over US$13.3 billion by Vanity Fair in 2013.

Early life and education

Rahim Aga Khan was born on 12 October 1971, in Geneva, Switzerland. He is the eldest son and second oldest of three children born to Shah Karim al-Husseini and his first wife Salimah Aga Khan, a British national.
Rahim was educated in the United States, receiving his secondary education at Phillips Academy Andover, Massachusetts, before graduating from Brown University with a bachelor's degree in comparative literature in 1995. In 2006 he completed graduate studies in management and administration in Barcelona, Spain, at the IESE Business School University of Navarra.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Rahim has been involved for many years in the governance of the Aga Khan Development Network, where, he chaired the AKDN Environment and Climate Committee.
In 2019, Rahim sat on either the Board or Executive Committee for several of AKDN agencies and affiliated structures, including the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, and the Aga Khan University Foundation.
In 2010, he established the Aga Khan Brown Workshop series at the Watson Institute.

Succession to the Imamate

Shah Rahim al-Hussaini, who had been designated successor by his father, was publicly announced as the 50th Imam following his father's death on 4 February 2025. The announcement took place after the reading of Shah Karim al-Husseini’s will at the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon. According to Nizari Ismaili tradition, leadership passes through designation by the previous Imam.

Personal life

Rahim married Kendra Irene Spears on 31 August 2013 in Geneva. They have two children: Irfan and Sinan. In 2019, he bought a house in Unstad in Vestvågøy Municipality, Norway. The couple divorced in February 2022.

Titles, styles and honours

The titles Prince and Princess are claimed by the Aga Khans and their children by virtue of their descent from Fath [Ali Shah|Fath-Ali Shah] of the Iranian Turkic Qajar dynasty. The title was officially recognised by the British government in 1938.
Scholar Farhad Daftary wrote of how the honorific title "Aga Khan" |Agha] and Hasan Ali Shah at the age of thirteen when he, as the young 46th Imam, went with his mother to the Qajar court in [Tehran">Aga Khan I">Hasan Ali Shah at the age of thirteen when he, as the young 46th Imam, went with his mother to the Qajar court in [Tehran to successfully obtain justice for his slain father, Shah Khalil Allah III, as those involved in the murder were punished. "At the same time, the Qajar monarch bestowed on him the honorific title of Agha Khan, meaning lord and master." Daftary additionally commented, "The title of Agha Khan remained hereditary amongst his successors." Fath-Ali Shah also gave his daughter, princess Sarv-i-Jahan Khanum, in marriage to the young Imam.
The style of His Highness was granted to the Aga Khan V by King Charles III on 10 February 2025.

Patrilineal descent

Shah Rahim al-Hussaini Aga Khan's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son.
  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 , 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, 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 , 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. Aly Khan, 1911–1960
  71. 49th Imam Shah Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, 1936–2025
  72. 50th Imam Shah Rahim al-Hussaini, Aga Khan V, 1971-Present

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