How Britain’s ‘first lady’ Akshata Murthy is ‘richer than the king’: the wife of UK’s next prime minister Rishi Sunak comes from an Indian billionaire family – and wears Gucci and Valentino
- Akshata is the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy, who co-founded tech giant Infosys, and she’s also involved in Catamaran Ventures and Digme Fitness
- Murthy met her husband Rishi Sunak at Stanford University and they married in 2009 in Bangalore, before moving to London to live in an US$8 million townhouse
They’re rich, famous and about to become the UK’s leading political couple. Britain’s next prime minister Rishi Sunak, 42, and his millionaire wife Akshata Murthy, also 42, are no strangers to the headlines and boast a net worth of nearly a billion bucks, (well, US$911.9 million to be exact, per Hindustan Times). Multiple reports indicate that the duo have a fortune wealthier than that of Britain’s King Charles!
From titbits about their relationship, to their luxury fashion choices and a tax scandal, the pair are well versed on how to deal with media scrutiny. So, who is Britain’s new “first lady” and how is she so rich? Here’s everything you need to know.
Where does the wealth come from?
Although the couple have a combined net worth of around US$910 million according to Hindustan Times, it is the politician’s wife, Akshata Murthy, who put him on The Sunday Times Rich List in May this year. She is the daughter of Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy. According to the company’s website, Infosys is a global software services company.
Murthy senior has been credited for creating the Global Delivery Model, the backbone of the Indian software industry. Forbes lists Murthy senior’s net worth at US$4.5 billion. His daughter, Akshata, owns shares worth almost US$1 billion dollars in Infosys, according to the company’s disclosure to the stock exchanges.
According to The Guardian, she is also the director of a venture capital firm funded by her father and is the director of equity firm Catamaran Ventures, high-end fitness chain Digme Fitness and gentlemen’s outfitters New & Lingwood.
Her successful parents
According to The Independent, Akshata and her brother Rohan, 39, were raised by their paternal grandparents. This was because their father was pursuing a career in software while their mother Sudha became the first female engineer to work for India’s biggest car manufacturer Telco, reports Times Now News.