Remembering Karim Aga Khan

On a personal note, I remember Karim Aga Khan, who just died at his estate in Portugal at the age of 88.

The vastly rich religious head of the Ismaili sect of Islam, which has as many as 15 million members, he inherited his title from his grandfather in 1957, aged just 20, and was believed by his followers to be “the bringer of life” and a direct descendant of the prophet Mohammed.

We met in Porto Cervo on Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda, a luxury resort Khan developed whose marina features berths for 700 yachts. At the time of our meeting I was sailing the Mediterranean on Aiglon – the 57-meter schooner of the late Prince Johannes von Thurn und Taxis, whose family founded the Bundespost, Germany’s postal system.

Khan had also been given the rank of His Royal Highness by the late Queen Elizabeth, who shared his love of horse racing.

His horse, Shergar, which won the Epsom Derby in the U.K. in 1981, was stolen by gunmen in Ireland in 1983 and never seen again.

When he attended Harvard, after studying at the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, his fellow students dubbed him “Jesus” given his religious status.

When I asked him what I should call him given his lofty rank and royal title, he replied: “Please call me K.”

A charming, urbane individual whose foundation, funded by the 10% tithe his followers pledged annually, gave billions to charity over the years.