British finance minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy have been included in the ‘Rich List’ of the 250 wealthiest British residents, Reuters reported. The couple's reported wealth is of 730 million pounds ($911.19 million).
Sunak's inclusion in the The Sunday Times UK Rich List at the 222nd slot is a result of his wife Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy and philanthropist mother Sudha Murthy. Akshata owns shares worth almost a billion dollars in Infosys as per the company's disclosure to the stock exchange, which makes her richer than Queen Elizabeth II.
The feat has come at a time when Sunak faces pressure to increase support for the households struggling with rising energy bills and food prices. The 41-year-old finance minister warned the country that the next few months would be tough.
The couple faced criticism last month over the non-domiciled tax status of Murthy which meant she did not pay taxes in UK over her earning abroad. However, she later gave up the status and said she would pay taxes.
“In recent days, people have asked questions about my tax arrangements: to be clear, I have paid tax in this country on my UK income and international tax on my international income. This arrangement is entirely legal and how many non-domiciled people are taxed in the UK. But it has become clear that many do not feel it is compatible with my husband’s role as Chancellor,” she had said in a statement.
First published in 1989, the Sunday Times Rich List ranks 1,000 wealthiest people residing in Britain. Besides including British citizens, the list also includes individuals and families from overseas who predominantly work or live in the UK.
The Indian-born Hinduja brothers, Sri and Gopi, topped the list with a net worth of more than 28 billion pounds.
The list compiler Robert Watts told Sky News that there were some people who approached the newspaper wanting to be included in the list, but Sunak wasn't one of those.
