"Richer Than The King", A Quick Guide To The UK’s New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak was on Tuesday, 25 October confirmed as the United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister taking over from Mary Elizabeth “Liz” Truss, who was on the job for only 44 days.
Sunak won the Conservative leadership contest after rival Penny Mordaunt failed to secure enough backing from Members of Parliament.
Here are a few things you probably didn’t know about Rishi Sunak:
He is Rich
According to BBC, Sunak’s wife is Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy.
Sunak himself has worked for the investment bank Goldman Sachs and at two hedge funds.
The Sunday Times Rich List estimates the couple’s fortune to be worth about £730 million.
Sunak and Murty’s combined fortune is double the estimated £300m-£350m wealth of King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, according to The Guardian.
They own four properties spread across the world and valued at more than £15m.
His Family
Sunak is the UK’s first ever person of colour to lead the country and the first Hindu prime minister.
He was born in Southampton in 1980 to Indian parents who had moved to the UK from east Africa.
His father was a GP and his mother ran her own pharmacy. He is the eldest of three children.
Sunak and his wife Akshata have two daughters.
Age
At 42, Sunak is younger than every predecessor except William Pitt the Younger who became Prime Minister aged 24 and was in office from 1783 to 1801 and then again from 1804 until his death in 1806 at the age of 46.
Rise to the top
He has gone from Member of Parliament to Prime Minister in just seven years – faster than any other PM in the modern era.
Pitt the Younger holds the overall record with just two years.
Friends and hobbies
Sunak “collects Coca-Cola things”, as he told two school pupils, before saying “I am a Coke addict, I am a total Coke addict,” then, as the pupils sniggered, clarifying “Coca-Cola addict, just for the record”. The Guardian
He ran for office twice in 2022
He lost to Liz Truss in September, but she resigned six weeks later.
In the latest leadership contest, Sunak racked up the support of his fellow MPs early, and fast.
He crossed the 100 nominations he needed long before the deadline – including from MPs that had previously backed Truss or Boris Johnson. BBC News
