UK PM Rishi Sunak, Wife Akshata Murty Richer Than King Charles, New List Shows

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty's personal wealth overtook that of King Charles, reported the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

The Sunday Times Rich List compiles the top 1,000 wealthiest individuals or families residing in the United Kingdom, ordered by their net wealth.

As per this index, the couple's personal fortune has increased by more than £120 million over the past year. Overtaking the UK's monarch King Charles, their wealth witnessed a jump from last year's £529 million to £651 million in 2024.

While Sunak has occupied 245th place on the list, King Charles holds 258th rank, after his wealth grew from £600 million to £610 million in the same period.

As per a report in the Mirror, the couple's fortune is driven largely by Akshata Murty's stake in Infosys, founded by her father, Narayana Murthy. It is worth noting that they are the wealthiest residents of 10 Downing Street in history. 

According to the BBC, the Sunaks' wealth also ranked higher than that of the late Queen in 2022. This was after Elizabeth II's personal fortune was evaluated at £370 million.

However, the report added that estimating the personal fortunes of monarchs is tricky. It must be noted that the wider wealth of the monarchy, which includes various estates and palaces, has been estimated at dozens of billions of pounds. 

With this, the UK Prime Minister also became the first front-line politician to feature on the Sunday Times' annual wealth list in its 35-year history. This includes Sunak appearing on the list as chancellor in the 2022 edition when the family's wealth was estimated at £730 million.

Sky News noted that the combined wealth of the list's 350 wealthiest people amounts to over £795 billion, which is larger than the gross domestic product (GDP) of Poland.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Hinduja Group Gopichand Hinduja topped the list again in 2024, with his fortune touching £37.196 billion. Last year also, Mr Hinduja occupied first place on the list.