Rishi Sunak, who becomes the UK’s new Prime Minister today, and his wife, Akshata Murty, are one of the country’s wealthiest couples, with a combined net worth of £730 million ($823.4m), according to The Sunday Times Rich List 2022.
Their personal fortune makes them the 222nd richest couple in Britain — and means they are wealthier than King Charles, who is now worth $600m after inheriting $500m from his mother, Queen Elizabeth, after her death on September 8.
However, the majority of the couple’s net worth is derived from Ms Murty’s reported £400m stake in Infosys, India’s second-largest IT company that was founded by her billionaire father, Narayana Murty, in 1981.
“According to financial filings, Akshata Murty owns 0.93 per cent of Infosys directly and earned around $14m in dividends from the family business in 2021,” according to Celebrity Net Worth, which tracks the wealth and finances of the rich and famous.
“Rishi and Akshata's combined net worth makes them [more than] $200m richer than King Charles,” it added.
Mr Sunak — one of the wealthiest politicians in Westminster — was named the new leader of the Conservative Party on Monday after a shortened leadership contest following the resignation of Liz Truss after only 44 days in office.
The former chancellor, who will be the UK’s third prime minister in less than two months, won the race when rival Penny Mordaunt failed to gain the backing of 100 MPs and after Boris Johnson ended his comeback attempt on Sunday.
Mr Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs hedge fund manager, and Ms Murty, who have two young daughters, also own three properties in the UK and the US, worth a combined total of about $20m, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
“The couple's primary home is a five-bedroom mansion in Kensington, West London … this property alone is worth $10m,” it said.
They also own the Grade II-listed Kirby Sigston Manor, a 4.8-hectare country estate in North Yorkshire, where Mr Sunak’s constituency is based, and a $7m penthouse apartment in the beachside suburb of Santa Monica in the US.
“The family bought the manor in 2015 for £1.5m. After buying the property, they spent an additional £400,000 converting parts of the property into a wellness retreat with a modern pool, spa and gym,” Celebrity Net Worth said.
“They reportedly spend around $20,000 per year just to heat the pool, which is 50 [feet] by 16 feet.”
Mr Sunak was a multimillionaire in his mid-20s, according to The Sunday Times.
In April, Ms Murty, an Indian national, said she would pay UK taxes on her worldwide income after it was disclosed that she was a non-domiciled in Britain for tax purposes.
A month later, Mr Sunak was under pressure from the UK’s Labour Party, which asked him to explain whether his family was benefitting from Infosys’ presence in Russia.
“This is a matter for Infosys and should be addressed to them,” a spokeswoman for Ms Murty said at the time.
“Ms Murty is one of many minority shareholders and has no involvement in the operational decisions of the company.”
Source: The National
Image source: Getty Images
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