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. The Aga Khan was also a philanthropist, and impact investor, who was always devoted to his people, the Ismailis, many of whom live in remote areas of some of the world’s poorest countries. Matt Reed, the global director of Institutional Partnerships for the Aga Khan Foundation, said that the Aga Khan was “a spiritual leader who felt an obligation to humanity to improve the quality of life for all people living in countries where he or his community were present.” He also said that Aga Khan IV had three principles for the AKDN’s work, namely “Absolute commitment” to working with all the people in the communities where it operates, regardless of faith or background; establishing institutions that would endure long after his death, whether the governments of these countries were weak or strong; and community ownership of all the projects so that everything the AKDN built or helped establish, either belonged to, or was managed by, the communities or local people.