Throne of Gold: The Lives of the Aga Khans - Hardcover

The Aga Khans have reigned as one of the 20th century's most extravagant lineages. The family--descendeds from Mohammed--owns homes and horse stables all over the world, and sits as the spiritual head of a sect of 15 million Muslims. Anne Edwards tells the Aga Khans story by focusing on three generations--the current Aga Khan, his father and his grandfather. These are men who lives are those of fairy tales. They live in lavish surroundings, are notorious in their pursuit of women and throw outrageous parties. Ripe material for a biography, and Edwards delivers it well.

For engrossing gossip about the really rich and famous, here's the scoop on the third-richest man in the world, the late Aga Khan III, descendant of Muhammad and spiritual leader of the Muslim Ismailis from the reign of Victoria to beyond WWII. His fabled wealth derived not from the pursuits of ordinary robber barons but from the generous tributes of his millions of followers. Twice in his lifetime, in a legendary ceremony, they matched his hefty weight with gold. Although he committed much of his wealth to bettering their lives through education, housing and health care, enough remained to support his own fabulous lifestyle, which included wives, mistresses, offspring and champion horses. Sincerely devout, he spent an hour every day in meditation and study of the Koran. He despaired of his playboy son Aly Khan, husband of Rita Hayworth, and he never married or divorced without observing Muslim precepts. A devoted Anglophile, he used his influence to keep the British in India as long as he could. Edwards (Sonya: The Life of Countess Tolstoy) sets this account against the great world events in which his wealth and influence played significant parts. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.