- Written by Paul Seddon
- BBC News political reporter
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy’s personal wealth rose by £122m last year, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
The latest list puts the couple’s fortune at an estimated £651m, up from £529m in 2023.
This is largely due to Murthy’s stake in Indian tech giant Infosys, which he co-founded with his father.
Charles III was ranked ahead of the Sunak family last year, but his personal fortune has increased even more modestly over the past year, estimated to have increased by between £10m and £610m.
The Sunak family ranked ahead of the late Queen in 2022, with Queen Elizabeth II’s personal fortune valued at £370 million in that year.
However, while the monarch’s personal wealth is difficult to estimate, the monarchy’s extensive wealth, including various mansions and palaces, is estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of pounds.
Mr Sunak will appear as Prime Minister in the 2022 edition of The Sunday Times, becoming the first front-line politician to appear in the Sunday Times annual rich list in its 35-year history.
At this time, the family’s wealth was estimated at £730 million.
Who will be in the top 10?
According to The Sunday Times, here are the 10 richest families and individuals in Britain, their estimated fortunes and main sources of wealth.
- Gopi Hindus and their families – 37.2 billion pounds (industrial and financial)
- Sir Leonard Blavatnik – £29.25bn (investments, music, media)
- David and Simon Reuben and their family – £24.98 billion (property and internet)
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe – £23.52 billion (chemicals)
- Sir James Dyson and his family – £20.8 billion (household goods and technology)
- Barnaby and Merlin Swire and their family – £17.2 billion (transport)
- Idan Offer – £14.96 billion (shipping)
- Lakshmi Mittal and family – 14.92 billion pounds (steel)
- Guy, George, Alana and Galen Weston and their family – £14.49bn (retail and property interests including Primark)
- John Fredriksen and family – £12.87 billion (shipping and oil services)
Mr Sunak, who worked as a hedge fund manager before entering politics, is privately wealthy, with his latest tax summary showing income, profits and capital gains of £2.2m last year.
But his status as the richest Briton is largely due to his wife’s Infosys shares, worth an estimated £590m last year.
Downing Street declined to comment on Mr Sunak’s recent inclusion on the rich list, saying it was a “private family matter”.
But the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson added: “When the Prime Minister has previously been asked this question, he has responded by asking people to judge him by his own actions, such as supporting people through the unemployment compensation scheme during the pandemic.”
“That’s his focus and priority and he should be judged on that basis.”
