Meet Rishi Sunak, Britain's first PM of colour

SHAH ALAM – Son of a Punjabi Indian household Rishi Sunak is set to be the first person of colour to serve as the British Prime Minister (PM) as Liz Truss quit after a month and a half seeing her support faded.

On top of that, both his rivals Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the race to replace Liz Truss as leader of the Conservative Party.

Sunak is however not the first minority ethnic PM since Benjamin Disraeli who was of Jewish heritage held the office twice between 1868 and 1880.

Sunak who was born in 1980 also became the youngest prime minister since the last 200 years.

From east Africa, his grandparent migrated to Britain in the 60s. Sunak in his maiden speech noted that they arrived with "very little”.

His father, Yashvir Sunak was a National Health Service general practitioner in Southampton on the southern English coast whereas his mother, Usha Sunak ran a local pharmacy.

Besides English, he also speaks both Hindi and Punjabi. In his spare time, he enjoys cricket, football and movies.

A devout Hindu, he is a regular at the temple where he was born -- Southampton. When Sunak became an MP, he took oath on the Hindu holy scripture, Bhagavad Gita.

Growing up, the eldest of three children went to a private boarding school, Winchester College and waited tables at a local Indian restaurant before pursuing politics, philosophy and economics at the University of Oxford where he earned himself a first-class degree.

He went on to obtain a master’s business administration (MBA) at Stanford University where he also found his future wife, Akshata Murty.

Murty, 42, is the daughter of the Indian billionaire NR Narayana Murthy who is dubbed the Bill Gates of India who co-founded the software company Infosys and philanthropist Sudha Murty.

It was reported that Sunak’s spouse holds a 0.91 per cent stake in the company which is worth about £700 million.

Reported to be the richest man in the House of Commons, Sunak is said to have amassed a net worth of £730 million. Some reports had even indicated that his wife is far wealthier than the late Queen, now the King since Queen Elizabeth II’s demise.

The first lady studied economics and French at the private Claremont McKenna College in California before earning a diploma at a fashion college.

She served at Deloitte and Unilever prior to studying for an MBA at Stanford.

Now, she runs her own fashion label, Akshata Designs and is simultaneously the director of a venture capital and private equity firm Catamaran Ventures, the gym chain Digme Fitness and the gentlemen’s outfitters New & Lingwood.

The couple wedded in Murty’s hometown of Bengaluru in a two-day ceremony in August 2009 which was flooded with 1,000 guests.

Their pair of daughters, Krishna and Anoushka showed up with Sunak on the campaign trail in the leadership contest against Liz Truss during the summer.

In April, it was revealed that Murty was a non-domiciled UK resident that she avoided UK taxes on her international earnings in return for paying an annual charge of £30,000 which negatively impacted her husband’s race against Truss.

Without that status, it was reported that she could have been liable for more than £20 million of UK taxes on these windfalls. After a public outcry, her spokesperson announced in the spring that she would start paying UK taxes on her global income to relieve political pressure on Sunak.

The Indian premier himself on the other hand admitted holding a US green card which he eventually gave up in October 2021, months after becoming chancellor.

Sunak had a lucrative career as an analyst for the investment bank Goldman Sachs from 2001 to 2004 prior to becoming a partner in two hedge funds.

He kicked his political role as the MP for Richmond in North Yorkshire, one of the country’s safest seats having been Tory since 1906, in May 2015 and from junior roles in the Treasury.

Sunak entered the government service as the Minister for Local Government in January 2018 before entering cabinet in July 2019 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

As his predecessor Sajid Javid resigned, he was catapulted in February 2020 to the post of Chancellor of Exchequer making him one of the youngest finance ministers in history.

Photographed lighting candles outside No. 11 Downing Street where the finance minister’s official residence is located, Sunak is known to celebrate the festival of lights, Deepavali.

Until July this year, he led the budget throughout the pandemic. Serving as an MP and a chancellor, Sunak made £151,649 from government salary.

In order to woo a traditionally low-tax favouring Conservative Party members, he remained loyal to inflation rather tax cut promises.

Known to splash out on feasts of roast venison, canapés and champagne, the couple’s garden parties are one of the hottest tickets in town.

According to reports, the Sunaks own four properties including a Grade II-listed manor house in the village of Kirby Sigston near Northallerton in his Richmond constituency which was bought for £1.5 million in 2015 and a five-bedroom townhouse in South Kensington, London which records show was last sold for £4.5 million in 2010.

The couple also own a flat in South Kensington and a penthouse apartment with views of the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California.

The couple made their debut in the annual Sunday Times rich list in May 2022 with a combined fortune of £730 million making Sunak the first politician to appear on the list since it began in 1989.