UK finance minister Sunak named in list of Britain's super-rich

UK finance minister Sunak named in list of Britain's super-rich
May 21, 2022, 7:53 am

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will tell MPs that the period of doing ‘whatever it takes’ will be relatively short lived.

UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has become the first high-profile politician to make it to a “Rich List” of the 250 wealthiest British residents published by a national newspaper on Friday (May 20).

The announcement of the Sunday Times Rich List comes weeks after Sunak’s family's tax arrangements attracted controversy and amid a cost-of-living crisis.

According to the Daily Sabah, Sunak’s inclusion is largely a result of the wealth of his wife, Akshata Murty, whose father co-founded the IT behemoth Infosys.

The bulk of their wealth is believed to come from Murty’s 690 million pound ($859.47 million) stake in Infosys, but Sunak also had a highly lucrative career in finance before entering politics in 2015.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy attend a reception to celebrate the British Asian Trust, at The British Museum, in London, Britain, Feb. 9, 2022. (Reuters Photo)

The listing comes at a politically difficult time for the man in charge of Britain’s budget as he faces pressure to increase support for households struggling with soaring energy bills and food prices.

The Sunday Times newspaper said that the couple made The Sunday Times U.K. Rich List for the first time at number 222 with a reported joint net worth of 730 million pounds. The list’s compilers say their analysis is based on minimum estimates of identifiable wealth.

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak reject calls to resign after being fined by police over lockdown parties

Murthy, an Indian citizen, owns about 0.9% of Infosys.

Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs analyst who became chancellor aged 39 in 2020, earlier this week warned the country that the “next few months will be tough.”

Sunak and Murthy faced criticism and public anger last month over Murthy’s “non-domiciled” tax status which meant she did not pay tax in Britain on her earnings abroad. She subsequently gave up the status and said she would pay British tax on her global income.

Rishi Sunak to call for 'global action' to tackle supply chain issues as fuel crisis continues

The Sunday Times Rich List, first published in 1989, ranks the wealthiest people resident in Britain. It includes British citizens as well as individuals and families from overseas but who predominantly work or live in the United Kingdom.

List compiler Robert Watts, told Sky News: “There are some people who approach us wanting to be put onto the Rich List every year, Mr. Sunak wasn’t one of those."

The Sunday Times’ list calculates identifiable wealth – land, property, racehorses, art or significant shares in publicly quoted companies – but is unable to measure bank account balances and small shareholdings in private equity portfolios.

Source: dailysabah

Mexico reports first death of child from unknown severe hepatitis Volodymyr Zelensky proposes formal deal on compensation from Russia