The personal wealth of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty rose by £122 million last year, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. The couple’s fortune was estimated at £651 million in the latest list up from £529 million in 2023.
According to the latest Sunday Times' annual list of the UK’s most wealthy people, the family is richer than King Charles III.
Charles III was ranked higher than the Sunak family last year, but his personal fortune recorded a modest gain over the past year, rising from £10 million to £610 million.
The couple ranked higher than the late Queen in 2022 - with Elizabeth II’s personal fortune that year evaluated at £370 million.
Sunak became the first front-line politician to feature on the Sunday Times' annual wealth list in its 35-year history when he appeared on it as chancellor in the 2022 edition.
The rise in the couple’s fortune is linked to Murty’s stake in Infosys, the $70 billion (£55.3 billion) Indian IT company co-founded by her father N R Narayana Murthy. The value of her shares grew by £108.8 million to nearly £590 million for the year. The couple’s wealth remains below its level in 2022 when it was estimated at £730 million, The Guardian reported.
Downing Street declined to comment on PM Sunak’s latest appearance in the rich list, saying it was a “private family matter”.
“When he’s been asked this question before he’s responded and asked that people judge him by his actions, including to support livelihoods during the pandemic though the furlough scheme as an example. That's his focus and his priority and he should be judged on that,” the BBC reported quoting the PM’s official spokesman.
The Sunday Times' annual list showed that the number of British billionaires tumbled for the second consecutive year, continuing a theme seen in 2023. The UK had 177 billionaires in 2022, which slipped to 171 last year and fell again to 165 this year.
10 richest families in UK
Gopi Hinduja and family: £37.2 billion (industry and finance)
Sir Leonard Blavatnik - £29.25 billion (investment, music and media)
David and Simon Reuben and family - £24.98 billion (property and internet)
Sir Jim Ratcliffe - £23.52 billion (chemicals)
Sir James Dyson and family - £20.8 billion (household goods and technology)
Barnaby and Merlin Swire and family - £17.2 billion (transport)
Idan Ofer - £14.96 billion (shipping)
Lakshmi Mittal and family - £14.92 billion (steel)
Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family - £14.49 billion (retail and real estate interests, including Primark)
John Fredriksen and family- £12.87 billion (shipping and oil services)