Rishi Sunak and Aksya Murty

Rishi Sunak and his wife are in the UK’s welathiest 250 people

Rishi Sunak and Aksya Murty
Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty

Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty are the UK’s wealthiest 250 people for the first time, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, their joint £730million ( 911.19 million), fortune ranks them at 222.

Recently, Ms. Murty’s tax affairs came under scrutiny after it was revealed she had “non-dom” status meaning she did not pay UK tax on overseas income. Ms. Murty is the daughter of an Indian IT billionaire, and her 0.9 per cent stake in her father Narayana Murty’s IT company Infosys, estimated to be worth around £690m, earned her £11.6m in dividend income last year,  and her estimated non-dom status could have saved her £20m in taxes, later agreed to pay UK taxes on all her earnings.

Mr. Sunak was later cleared of breaching the ministerial code after referring himself to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s standards adviser to check if he had properly declared all his interests.

The Sunday Times Rich List of the UK’s wealthiest 250 people also revealed a record 188 billionaires in the UK this year are worth E£711bn, an 8 per cent rise on last year’s £658bn. The expanding fortunes of Britain’s wealthiest people come amid a growing cost of living crisis, with UK inflation rising to 9 per cent in the year to April – prices are rising at their fastest rate for 40 years, despite February Mr. Sunak announcing a £9 bn package of measures, including a £150 discount to council tax and a £200 loan for energy bills in the autumn.

Sri Gopi Hinduja who runs the India-based conglomerate Hinduja Group topped the list with their £28.47 bn fortune – a growth of more than £11bn in a year. Entrepreneur Sir James Dyson and his family are second on the rich list after a £6.7bn increase to £23bn.

Top Ten

No Name Fortune in Bn Industry
1 Sri and Gopi Hinduja and family £28.47 Industry & Finance
2 Sir James Dyson and family £23.00 household goods and technology
3 David and Simon Reuben and family £22.26 property and internet
4 Sir Leonard Blavatnik £20.00 investment, music, and media
5 Guillaume Pousaz £19.26 Online Payments
6 Lakshmi Mittal and family £17.00 Steel
7 Christoph Henkel and family £15.00 Chemicals
8 Guy, George, Alannah, and Galen Weston and family £13.50 Retailing
9 Kirsten and Jorn Rausing £12.00 Inheritance and Investment
10 Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho £11.42 Inheritance, Brewing, and Banking