The combined net worth of Akshata Murty, a tech heiress, and Rishi Sunak is estimated to be £730 million ($844 million).
Their net worth is roughly equal to King Charles’ estimated personal wealth of £370 million.
The fact that millions of Britons are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis raises doubts about the multimillionaire Sunak’s comprehension of what regular Britons go through.
LONDON — Rishi Sunak, the new prime minister of Britain, made history by becoming the nation’s first person of colour and its youngest leader in modern times at the age of 42.
With a fortune estimated to be greater than King Charles III’s, he also breaks the record for being the Downing Street resident who is the richest person ever.
Prior to entering politics eight years ago, Sunak worked as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs and later as a hedge fund manager. Sunak took Liz Truss’ place as Conservative Party leader on Monday.
However, he owes a large portion of his enormous wealth to his wife, Akshata Murty, a tech heiress whose father, N. R. Narayana Murthy, who goes by a different spelling of his last name, founded the Indian IT firm Infosys.
A net worth of $844 million
The Sunday Times Rich List estimates the couple’s combined wealth at £730 million ($844 million).
Murty’s 0.93 percent ownership stake in Infosys, which has a market value of about $75 billion right now, accounts for the majority of her wealth. However, Murty also owns Catamaran Ventures U.K., the British division of her father’s venture capital and private equity firm, which holds interests in a number of businesses, including a luxury furniture company that her father’s eldest daughter, Rupert Murdoch, also co-owns.
CNBC asked Catamaran Ventures for comment, but they didn’t give any.
The couple, who got together while pursuing their MBAs at Stanford University, is also said to be the owner of at least four properties, including a California apartment, valued at an estimated £18.3 million.
Their primary residence before moving into Downing Street was a five-bedroom Kensington home valued at approximately £6.6 million, and they spent weekends at a Grade-II listed retreat in Yorkshire, according to The Guardian.
Richer than the king?
According to Guinness World Records, Edward Stanley, the former richest prime minister of the United Kingdom, was elected in 1852 and had a net worth of roughly $440 million at the time. Sunak and his wife’s wealth is significantly greater than Stanley’s.
Additionally, it is more than twice as much as the estimated £370 million wealth of King Charles and his queen consort.
This estimate does not include the value of the larger crown estate, which is held by the monarch only while they are in power and consists of a diverse collection of structures, works of art, forests, and fields valued at billions of pounds.
Since Sunak became prime minister, Downing Street residents are reportedly now wealthier than Buckingham Palace residents for the first time.
It comes at a time when many Britons are struggling with rising living costs, casting doubt on the multimillionaire Sunak’s comprehension of the plight of common Brits.
Indeed, earlier this year, the former finance minister faced harsh criticism over his wife’s “non-domiciled” status, which exempted her from paying tax on her earnings outside of the U.K. The family will reportedly save £20 million in UK taxes thanks to the loophole, which is legal.
Later, Murty pledged to renounce that status and begin filing taxes on her full income. CNBC asked Downing Street for confirmation that she had done so, but as of the time of writing, they had not responded.
