What is Rishi Sunak’s net worth?

As the UK’s richest prime minister, there has been much talk of Rishi Sunak’s net worth.

Conservative Party leader Sunak was hoping to be re-elected at the 4 July general election. However, it soon became clear that this was unlikely to happen, and Sir Keir Starmer became the UK’s newest prime minister in a landslide victory for Labour.  

Regardless of the historic Tory defeat, it’s hard to beat the former prime minister when it comes to personal wealth. Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty’s combined fortune of £651 million puts them in touching distance of some of the richest people in the world. The Sunak family also appears in the Sunday Times Rich List 2024.

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Sunak grew up in a financially stable family – despite his claim that he ‘went without’ as a child, citing the absence of Sky TV in the house during an interview with ITV News in June. In fact, he was reportedly a multi-millionaire by his mid-twenties, according to The Sunday Times.

But where does all his wealth come from – and does this make Rishi Sunak richer than King Charles III? We've run the numbers.

What is Rishi Sunak’s net worth?

Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty’s combined worth is around £651 million. Most of it comes from Murty’s holdings in the $70 billion Indian IT company Infosys founded by her father N. R. Narayana Murthy (known as the Steve Jobs of India) in 1981. Murty owns 0.93% of the company, and her shares grew in value by £108.8 million to almost £590 million this year. Moreover, the company’s latest annual report suggests that Murty received about £13 million in dividends and is set to receive another £10.5 million this year.

Then there’s Murty’s stake in Catamaran Ventures UK, the British arm of her father’s venture capital and private equity firm. It manages around $1 billion in assets across India. According to an investigation by The Guardian, Murty also has a stake in International Market Management, a company that owns 100% of Mauritius-based Immassociates Mauritius. Immassociates Mauritius holds investments in fast-food restaurants and franchises across India.

Murty’s earnings far exceed those of the former prime minister. In February 2024, Sunak released his financial statements, which showed that he made £2.2 million in 2022-23, of which only 6.5% was his MP and prime ministerial wages. Other earnings include roughly £1.8 million through capital gains and around £300k from interest and dividends, and he paid £508,308 in tax. 

Before entering politics, Sunak worked as an analyst for Goldman Sachs from 2001 to 2004. He then studied for an MBA at Stanford University in California, where he met his now-wife Murty.  

Soon after, he moved back to the UK and joined The Children’s Investment Fund Management (TCI), founded by hedge fund billionaire Chris Hohn. In 2006, the year Sunak became a partner, the firm reported profits of £321 million, according to Companies House documents. In the two years leading up to the financial crisis, TCI saw profits nearing £900 million. 

After leaving TCI in 2009, Sunak returned to Calfornia to work with former colleagues at the new hedge fund firm Theleme Partners. He served as a director at Catamaran Ventures from 2013 to 2015, before becoming an MP for Richmond and Northallerton – a seat he has held since. 

The Sunaks have a property portfolio worth around £15 million. The Sunday Times Rich List estimates their main Kensington mews house is worth around £7 million. They also own a flat on Old Brompton Road in Kensington, a Georgian manor house in North Yorkshire, which they bought for around £1.5 million nearly a decade ago, and a £5.5 million penthouse in Santa Monica, California.  

While Murty’s vast fortunes are well-known, her tax affairs have not been quite as transparent. Two years ago, it was revealed by The Independent that she held non-dom status. It meant she avoided paying UK tax on at least some of her Infosys dividends – possibly as much as £20 million. 

However, she announced she would stop using the special status soon after the investigation emerged. Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt had announced that non-domicile status would be phased out, and the new Labour government also pledged to scrap the non-dom tax status in the Labour Party manifesto. 

Is Rishi Sunak richer than King Charles III?

While we may have a rough idea of Rishi Sunak’s net worth, trying to figure out how much King Charles is worth is even more challenging.

King Charles has outstripped the late Queen Elizabeth II in wealth, bringing his net worth to £610 million. This boost has been aided by his royal property holdings.

But how much he's really worth continues to be a hotly debated topic, with some insisting that he may be a billionaire because the monarch technically owns estates including the £1.1 billion Duchy of Lancaster and the £15.8 billion Crown Estate. However, according to Robert Watts from The Times, these assets cannot count as his own because they come with his job and are not owned personally by Charles III.

So what counts when calculating the King’s personal wealth? Some of Charles’s most valuable assets are his Sandringham and Balmoral estates, which are valued at roughly £250 million and £210 million each.

And what about the late Queen’s assets? Queen Elizabeth II’s will is not going to be made public until 2112 – so we’re very unlikely to be here by the time it’s unveiled! Still, if we assume Charles is inheriting the late queen’s direct wealth, he could be worth an extra £400 million according to David McClure, author of The Queen’s True Worth. This includes her stamp collection worth £100 million. What we do know is that the Queen passed on a portfolio worth about £120 million and that her racehorse breeding is worth at least £27 million.

But the ruling monarch has access to assets held in trust for the sovereign, or “in right of the Crown”, which are run by the government of the day. These include seven royal palaces (including Buckingham Palace) and 11 castles worth a total of £22 billion according to Forbes. Then there are the Crown Jewels (worth around £3.5 billion) and the Crown’s art collection (another £7.5 billion). In comparison, Sunak’s portfolio starts to look rather small.

So, while Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty’s net worth is parked at £651 million, King Charles’s assets as monarch total in the region of £49 billion. Even Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty can’t compete with that kind of wealth.

What is the next step for Rishi Sunak?

Despite losing out to Starmer in the 2024 general election, Rishi Sunak has hung on to his seat as an MP in his constituency of Richmond and Northallerton, and remains the Conservative Party leader until his successor is chosen. 

Many have speculated what Sunak’s next steps will be and whether he will return to California and make moves in the financial sector. However, he was quick to debunk this claim at the G20 summit, insisting that he aims to remain an MP for the next five years.

He can also take advantage of the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA), despite his actively wealthy lifestyle. The PDCA will allow him to claim financial support of up to £115,000 a year for any administration costs that come up as a result of his position as a former prime minister for the UK.

It looks like he’ll remain on the rich lists for some time to come…