By Bruce Pannier Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the spiritual leader of some 15 million Ismaili Muslims worldwide, died in Portugal on February 4 aged 88. The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) announced the passing of the “49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad” on their website.

At the age of 20, Prince Karim Al-Hussaini inherited the reins of a Shia Muslim lineage and used his entrepreneurship to become one of the world’s richest hereditary rulers.

The Aga Khan IV was often referred to as a philanthropist, but the description ignores the spiritual impetus for his work.