Rishi Sunak rides wife’s family fortune past King on The Sunday Times Rich List

The wealth of the British PM and Akshata Murty has risen to $1.23bn, while Paul McCartney has become Britain’s first billionaire musician.

Rishi Sunak is on the list largely due to his wife Akshata Murty’s shareholding in Infosys, the Indian technology company co-founded by her father.

Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are richer than the King, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.

The British Prime Minister’s presence on the list rests largely on his wife’s shareholding in Infosys, the Indian technology company co-founded by her father.

The couple’s £651m ($1.23bn) fortune places them at 245 on this year’s edition of the Rich List, up from 275 last year. They have leapfrogged King Charles, who last year was positioned at 263 and this year moved to 258, his net worth calculated at £610m.

Mr Sunak and Ms Murty’s wealth rose £122m over the past year, while the King’s wealth increased £10m. The wealth of the royal family in its entirety, rather than Charles’s personal wealth, is vastly larger, estimated to be more than £60bn ($114bn). Ms Murty’s Infosys shareholding has risen in value by £108.8m over the past year to £590.

Mr Sunak became the first high-ranking politician to feature on the list when he was included with his wife for the first time in 2022. In that year, his family’s fortunes were valued at £730m, above that of the late queen, who had a fortune of £370m.

This year’s list has recorded the largest fall in the number of billionaires in its 36-year history, with a total of 165, down from the 2022 peak of 177.

It is topped for the third successive year by corporate giant Gopi Hinduja and his family, with an estimated fortune of £37bn.

Billionaire businessman Gopi Hinduja in 2022. Picture: Getty Images)

Investor Leonard Blavatnik is next placed with £29bn.

Paul McCartney has become Britain’s first billionaire musician. His wealth increased by about £50m over the past 12 months, allowing the 81-year-old former Beatle to break the billion-pound mark and taking him to 165 on the list.

While royalties continue to flow in from the back catalogue of the Beatles – shared between Ringo Starr and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison –McCartney is also tapping into his post-Beatles back catalogue while fulfilling lucrative touring engagements. His earnings also increased with the release in November of “the last Beatles song”, Now and Then, created from an old recording featuring Lennon’s voice.

McCartney’s wealth will also have been boosted by Beyonce’s cover on her latest album of Blackbird, a song he originally wrote for the White Album in 1968.

Rich List editor Robert Watts said McCartney was more than a musician. “He is a very, very savvy businessman who has been very adept at making the most of his extensive back catalogue,” he said.

“His touring figures are extraordinary; 18 concerts in Australia and South America brought in £70m at the box office although he does not get all of that, and we ­always take out tax.”

Other older musicians have also seen their fortunes rise thanks to concert tours, including Elton John, whose wealth rose £20m to about £470m, and 291st on the list.

While Ed Sheeran’s young fanbase does not have the financial firepower of, for example, a 60-year-old Rolling Stones fan, he made it to the top 10 of the Rich List’s 40 Under 40 section with a fortune of £340m.

Fellow troubadour Harry Styles also had a financially successful year despite not releasing new material. His wealth is now estimated at 175m, joint 17th on the 40 Under 40 List, with former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua.

The Times