The Sunday Times Rich List has revealed that Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, have a combined wealth exceeding £650 million. The couple ranked 245th on the annual list, with their fortune increasing from £529 million in 2023 to £651 million this year. This makes them the wealthiest residents ever to live at No. 10 Downing Street, largely due to Murty’s shares in Infosys, her father’s Bangalore-based IT firm.
Sunak’s 2022-23 tax return showed he earned £2.2 million, with his prime ministerial salary of £151,649 comprising just 6.5% of his total income. Before his political career, Sunak worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and became a partner at two hedge funds. He has been the MP for Richmond, North Yorkshire, since 2015 and served as Chancellor under Boris Johnson in 2020.
In addition to Sunak’s ranking, the list highlighted an increase in King Charles’ wealth to £610 million, up from £600 million. However, it noted a decline in the number of British billionaires, which fell from 177 in 2022 to 165 this year. This reduction is attributed to high borrowing rates and the departure of some wealthy individuals from the UK.
Robert Watts, compiler of the Rich List, commented on the trend, suggesting the era of booming billionaire numbers in Britain might be ending, with significant implications for the country’s economy.