Prince Shah Rahim al-Hussaini (Persian:رحیم الحسینی; born 12 October 1971), known as theAga Khan V (Persian:آقاخان پنجم,romanized: Āqā Khān Panjum), is a religious leader, philanthropist, and businessman. He is the 50th hereditaryImam of theShia Nizari Isma'ili Muslims. The Qasimi Nizari Ismailis maintain that they are the only Shi‘i group today led by a living, present, hereditary Imam.[1]
He is the second of four children ofShah 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 titleAga Khan.[2] Upon assuming the Imamate, he inherited his father's estate, which had been valued at over US$13.3 billion byVanity Fair in 2013.[3]
Rahim Aga Khan was born on 12 October 1971, inGeneva, Switzerland. He is the eldest son and second oldest of three children born to Shah Karim al-Husseini (Aga Khan IV) and his first wifeSalimah Aga Khan (née Sarah Croker-Poole), a British national.[4][5][6][7]
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Rahim has been involved for many years in the governance of theAga Khan Development Network (AKDN), where he chaired the AKDN Environment and Climate Committee.[11]
In 2019, Rahim sat on either the Board or Executive Committee for several of AKDN agencies and affiliated structures, including theAga Khan Fund for Economic Development, and the Aga Khan University Foundation.[12]
In 2010, he established the Aga Khan Brown Workshop series at theWatson Institute.[13]
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 theIsmaili Centre inLisbon. According to Nizari Ismaili tradition, leadership passes through designation by the previous Imam.[14]
Rahim marriedKendra Irene Spears on 31 August 2013 in Geneva.[15] They have two children: Irfan (b. 11 April 2015)[16] and Sinan (b. 2 January 2017).[17] In 2019, he bought a house in Unstad inVestvågøy Municipality, Norway.[18][19] The couple divorced in February 2022.[20]
The titlesPrince andPrincess are claimed by the Aga Khans and their children by virtue of their descent fromFath-Ali Shah of theIranianTurkicQajar dynasty. The title was officially recognised by the British government in 1938.[21]
ScholarFarhad Daftary wrote of how thehonorific title "Aga Khan" (fromAgha andKhan) was first given toHasan Ali Shah (the Aga Khan I) at the age of thirteen when he, as the young 46th Imam, went with his mother to the Qajar court inTehran 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 (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."Fath-Ali Shah also gave his daughter, Princess Sarv-i-Jahan Khanum, in marriage to the young Imam.
Pakistan:
Nishan-e-Pakistan (7 June 2024)[24][25]
Kenya:
Chief of theOrder of the Golden Heart of Kenya (26 August 2025)[26]
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Collar of theMost Excellent Order of the Pearl of Africa (11 September 2025)[27]
United States:
