Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has said it’s “fantastic” that the Chancellor has joined the Sunday Times Rich List.
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy have made the prestigious list for the first time with their joint £730 million fortune. On Friday morning (20 May) the Sunday Times revealed they featured at 222 in the Rich List, driven by Ms Murty’s £690 million stake in Indian IT firm Infosys.
Mr Raab told Times Radio that Mr Sunak is a 'fantastic example' of someone who has been successful in business and who's 'coming to make a big impact in public service.' He said: “I think we want more of those people. I think it’s fantastic that you’ve got someone of British-Indian origin, showing all people in our country that you can get to the top of politics."
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He also commended Ms Murthy, adding: “And frankly, I think if I understood correctly, the Sunday Times Rich List was a reflection of not just him but his wife. His wife is an incredibly successful entrepreneur in her own right. Again someone that’s here, British-Indian, and actually I think we want to see more women succeeding in both business and politics.”
It comes after the Chancellor and his wife’s finances have come under intense scrutiny in recent months. In April, it was revealed that Ms Murty had non-dom status, which typically applies to someone who was born overseas and spends much of their time in the UK but still considers another country to be their permanent residence or “domicile”.
It has been estimated Ms Murty’s non-dom status could have saved her £20 million in taxes on dividends from her shares in Infosys, which was founded by her father.. She later agreed to pay UK taxes on her worldwide income. Mr Sunak was cleared of breaching the ministerial code by Boris Johnson’s standards adviser after considering the tax affairs.
What do you make of his appearance on the Rich List? Have your say in our comments.
Elsewhere on the list, Sri and Gopi Hinduja, who run the Mumbai-based conglomerate Hinduja Group, jumped to the top spot after their wealth grew by more than £11 billion to £28.47 billion. Entrepreneur Sir James Dyson and his family moved up to second in the list after a £6.7 billion increase to £23 billion.
Property investors David and Simon Reuben meanwhile were third with £22.26 billion, while Ukrainian-born Sir Leonard Blavatnik dropped from top spot to fourth. One notable absentee from the top of the list is Roman Abramovich.
The former Chelsea owner slid from eighth to 28th in rankings after his finances plummeted from £12.2 billion last year to £6 billion this year following sanctions, the enforced sale of Chelsea and the sharp fall in his Evraz shares.
The latest ranking of the 250 richest people in Britain also revealed a record 177 billionaires in the UK this year, up from 2021. It comes as typical UK households come under increased financial pressure from rampant inflation, which struck a 40-year-high of 9% in April.
Overall, the richest 250 in the UK this year are worth £710.72 billion, compared to £658.09 billion in 2021, an 8% rise on last year, the Sunday Times said.
