by It is a day of historic firsts for Rishi Sunak, who beat Penny Mordaunt in the race to become the new leader of the Conservative Party and, by extension, the next prime minister.
Sunak will become the first Hindu from the UK to hold the country’s highest office after meeting King Charles, who will ask him to form a government.
He will also be one of the richest politicians to enter 10 Downing Street. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are worth £730 million.
Mr Sunak, MP for Richmond, Yorkshire, was Chancellor under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, meaning he has experience at the highest levels of government.
He oversaw the government furlough scheme during the Covid pandemic and drew up plans for cost-of-living payments given to people to help them cover high energy, fuel and food prices.
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Sunak was first elected to parliament just seven years ago in 2015 and his rise to the top has been swift.
Johnson promoted him to the position of Parliamentary Undersecretary in the now-defunct Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in 2019.
Just a year later, he earned another promotion to chief treasury secretary and was then named chancellor by Johnson in 2020.
Before entering parliament, Mr. Sunak worked as a banker and it was his experience in the industry that qualified him for the role of overseeing the nation’s finances.
Mr. Sunak’s wife, Akshata, whom he married in 2009, is the daughter of NR Narayana Murthy, founder of the Indian IT multinational Infosys, worth an estimated $4.5 billion. She is reported to have a £690m stake in the company.
While Mr Sunak and his wife are worth over £700m combined, the new prime minister made his own fortune while working in the city.
After studying politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University, Sunak would go on to work as an analyst for Goldman Sachs before joining a series of hedge funds.
In speeches following his announcement as the winner of the leadership contest, Sunak vowed to unify his divided party and warned of a “profound economic challenge” ahead.
(Reuters)
He also paid Liz Truss, the former prime minister whom he will replace.
In a televised address to the nation, Rishi Sunak said: “I would like to pay tribute to Liz Truss for her dedicated public service to the country.
“She has led with dignity and grace through a time of great change and exceptionally difficult circumstances, both at home and abroad.
“I am humbled and honored to have the support of my fellow MPs and to be elected Leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party.
“It is the greatest privilege of my life to be able to serve the party that I live for and give back to the country that I owe so much to.”
