Shah Karim Al Hussaini, better known to the world as the Aga Khan, was a prince without a physical realm. Yet he mingled with kings and presidents and oversaw a fortune reportedly worth billions of dollars. Prince Karim, who passed away at the age of 88, was the 49th hereditary Imam of the Ismaili Muslims, and the fourth to bear the title of Aga Khan. In his nearly 68-year tenure as Ismaili Imam, he worked for the socioeconomic uplift of his flock, as well as the larger communities wherever Ismailis could be found. Claiming descent from the Ismaili Imams that would separate from the Shia mainstream in the eighth century, Prince Karim was very much a man of the modern world. A major focus worldwide of Karim Aga Khan’s work for his own followers as well as other communities was on health, education and socioeconomic uplift. He established a web of agencies and organisations that implemented his vision of human development. These include the Aga Khan Foundation and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.