Asif Ali Zardari Wiki, Biography, Age, Family, Height, Net Worth, Fast Facts

Zardari was born on 26 July 1955 in Karachi, Sindh in the Zardari family. He is of Baloch origin, belonging to the Sindhi-speaking Zardari tribe. He is the only son of Hakim Ali Zardari, a tribal chief and prominent landowner, and Bilquis Sultana Zardari. His paternal grandmother was of Iraqi descent, while his mother was the granddaughter of Hassan Ali Effendi, a Sindhi educationist who is known as the founder of the Sindh Madressatul Islam.

Zardari’s initial political career was unsuccessful. In 1983, he lost an election for a district council seat in Nawabshah, a city of Sindh, where his family owned thousands of acres of farmland. He then went into real estate.

He married Benazir Bhutto on 18 December 1987. The arranged marriage, done in accordance with Pakistani culture, was initially considered an unlikely match. The lavish sunset ceremony in Karachi was followed by immense night celebrations that included over 100,000 people. The marriage enhanced Bhutto’s political position in a country where older unmarried women are frowned upon. Zardari deferred to his wife’s wishes by agreeing to stay out of politics.

In 1988, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash. A few months later, Bhutto became Pakistan’s first female Prime Minister when her party won 94 of 207 seats contested in the 1988 elections.

Zardari and Benazir Bhutto had one son and two daughters. His son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is the current Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party. His older daughter, Bakhtawar, was born on 25 January 1990, and his younger daughter, Aseefa, was born on 2 February 1993. After Benazir Bhutto’s death, his sister Faryal Talpur became the guardian of his children and he changed Bilawal Zardari’s name to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

His mother died in November 2002, during his detention in jail. His father Hakim Ali Zardari died in May 2011. After that he became the chieftain of the Zardari tribe. However, initially he had decided not to assume leadership and wanted to pass the position to his son Bilawal.

Spirituality
Zardari is a Shia, being a disciple of Prof. Ahmad Rafique Akhtar, who hails from Gujjar Khan and is the guide of many other officials from civil and military circles as well.

Health
His mental health has been a subject of controversy. He has repeatedly claimed he was tortured while in prison. He was diagnosed with dementia, major depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder from 2005 to 2007, which helped influence the verdict of one of his corruption trials. He now claims he is completely healthy, with only high blood pressure and diabetes.

In 2005, Daily Pakistan reported he was the second richest man in Pakistan with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion. He amassed great wealth while his wife was Prime Minister. In 2007, he received $60 million in his Swiss bank account through offshore companies under his name. He was reported to have estates in Surrey, West End of London, Manhattan (a condominium in Belaire Apartments), and Dubai, as well as a 16th-century chateau in Normandy. In Britain, he used a common legal device—the purchase of property through nominees with no family link to the Bhuttos. His homes in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad are called Bilawal House I, Bilawal House II, and Zardari House respectively.

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