Akshata Murty, Rishi Sunak’s wife, lost over $61 million (£49 million) (over Rs. 500 crores) when Infosys Ltd shares plunged to their greatest level since he was appointed UK Prime Minister.
Murty has 0.94% ownership in the Indian software giant Narayana Murthy co-founded. The stock plummeted on Monday as its guidance painted a bleak picture for India’s IT industry, prompting a wave of broker downgrades. It finished down 9.4%, the most since March 2020.
The paper loss, although only a small percentage of the Sunak family’s wealth—Murty’s stock is still worth over £450 million—shows the distance between the prime minister and the average British citizen who is struggling to keep up with growing living expenses.
Murty’s fortune and outside interests have been a reoccurring subject throughout her husband’s political career. It was revealed last year that she had non-domicile status and has not been paying UK tax on her abroad earnings. She stated that her arrangements were “entirely legal,” but she also chose to begin paying British taxes on those revenues.
Separately, UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg launched an investigation into whether Sunak failed to register a relevant interest in a daycare firm in which his wife owns a minority ownership. His office stated that the interest had been “transparently declared” and that he would work with Greenberg.
The prime minister revealed details of his personal financial problems last month, revealing that he paid over £1mn in UK taxes over the previous three years. His profits from stock options and capital gains substantially outweighed his political salary.
