Rishi Sunak Biography: On 25 October 2022, Rishi Sunak became the first non-white and first Indian-origin Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Rishi Sunak was born on 12 May 1980 in Southampton, England. Rishi Sunak biography is not only interesting but also inspiring for many young Indians, considering that he became the Prime Minister of the UK in 2015, only 7 years after joining politics.
Not only this, Rishi is also the youngest Prime Minister of Britain in more than 200 years. In this biography, we will discuss everything you need to know about Rishi Sunak’s birth, age, early life, religion, wife, net worth, etc.
Rishi Sunak Biography
| Name | Rishi Sunak |
| Age | 43 years (as of Sep’23) |
| Born | 12 May 1980 |
| Place of birth | Southampton, England, UK |
| Height | 1.7m or 5.6 ft |
| Education | Oxford University & Stanford University |
| Nationality | British |
| Religion / Faith | Hindu |
| Parents | Yashvir Sunak & Usha Sunak |
| Wife | Akshata Murthy |
| Children | Krishna & Anoushka Sunak (Daughters) |
| Father in law | Narayana Murthy |
| Mother in law | Sudha Murthy |
| Business Career | Goldman Sachs, Children’s Investment Fund Management, Theleme Partners, Catamaran Ventures |
| Political Career | Chancellor of the Exchequer, Chief Secretary to the Treasury of the United Kingdom & Current Prime Minister |
| Net worth | 6,000 crores + |
| Approval rating | 26% approve, 63% disapprove |
| Major Achievements as PM | Subsidized restaurants & pubs (849 Million Pounds), Covid support cash |
Rishi Sunak Birth, Age, Parents & Grandparents
Rishi Sunak, who is currently 43 years old, was born on 12 May 1980 in Southampton, England. Rishi Sunak comes from a very interesting and diverse family background. Rishi’s grandfather was from Gujranwala (presently in Pakistan, but part of British India before 1947). Similarly, Rishi’s maternal grandfather was from Ludhiana (presently in India, but part of British India until 1947).
Interestingly, this makes Rishi an Indian as well as a Pakistani.
Rishi Sunak’s grandparents left Gujranwala in 1935 to work in Nairobi, Kenya. Rishi’s father Yashvir was born in Kenya, while his mother Usha was born in Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania).
It was around the dictatorship of Ugandan politician Idi Amin when things got really bad for Asian communities like Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis etc and regular cases of hate crimes against Asians were reported. This forced a large number of Asian populations from East Africa to migrate to Britain, the US and Canada around the 1960s.
It is reported that Rishi’s grandparents had to sell their wedding jewelery to be able to raise funds for relocation to the UK. After relocating to the UK, Rishi’s parents Yashvir and Usha Sunak got married in Leicester, England in 1977.
Rishi’s father was a general practitioner in the NHS (National Health Service), while his mother ran a pharmacy.
Rishi was born in 1980 after 3 years of marriage and was the eldest among his siblings Rishi, Sanjay and Rakhi.
Rishi’s brother Sanjay is a psychologist and his sister Rakhi is the head of strategy and planning at the United Nations.
Rishi Sunak Early Life & Education
Rishi Sunak comes from a family with immigrant roots, which is why, his childhood is a perfect example of exemplary hard work and determination.
Rishi used to help his mother in her pharmacy store and eventually learned to manage the store’s accounts. During his summer holidays, Rishi worked as a waiter in a local Indian restaurant in Southampton.
Thanks to the savings of Rishi’s parents, Rishi was able to enroll in the most prestigious institutions for his education.
After studying at Stroud School in Romsey, Rishi later joined Winchester College, one of the UK’s most premier institutions (which costs more than £40,000 or Rs 40 lakh per year).
In recent years, Rishi Sunak has donated more than £100,000 to the school several times.
After completing his studies at Winchester College, Rishi continued his education at Lincoln College, Oxford University.
Rishi was one of the 9 rare undergraduate students accepted to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Lincoln College.
Rishi was a natural leader even during his college days, as he later served as the President of the Oxford Trading and Investment Society.
Rishi completed his graduation from Oxford University in 2001 and started working for Goldman Sachs, after which he did an MBA from Stanford University in California, USA as a Fulbright Scholar.
Rishi Sunak Wife & Children
When Rishi Sunak was studying for an MBA at Stanford, he met his future wife Akshata Murthy, daughter of Infosys founder, Indian billionaire N.R. She is also the daughter of Narayana Murthy.
Rishi and Akshata lived in California for a few years before moving back to London. After knowing each other for over 4 years, the couple decided to get married in August 2009 in Bengaluru.
It is believed that their wedding was not a very extravagant affair, but was held in a small simple ceremony of 2 days.
Akshata Murthy is considered to be the most powerful Indian woman in the world with an estimated net worth of over one billion US dollars.
In 2011, Akshata gave birth to her first daughter, Krishna, and in 2013, to her second daughter, Anushka.
Despite the fact that Rishi is the Prime Minister of Britain, his daughters Krishna and Anushka have managed to stay away from the media spotlight.
Rishi Sunak Parents in Law
Rishi Sunak’s parents-in-law Narayan and Sudha Murthy need no introduction as Sudha is the chairperson of Infosys, while Sudha is the co-founder of Infosys.
Narayan and Sudha met in 1974, and got married in Bangalore in 1978 with only a few friends and family present, like their future daughter Akshata.
Interestingly, their wedding expenses at that time came to only Rs 800, which both Sudha and Narayan shared Rs 50-50.
Moreover, Sudha’s father was not in favor of Narayan at that time, as he was not earning much. It was only when Narayan started working as General Manager at Patni Computers in 1977 that Sudha’s father agreed to the marriage.
Sudha is known to be a fearless woman in expressing her views, while Narayan on the other hand has always been a shy and introverted person.
Very few people know, but Narayana Murthy took a loan of Rs 10,000 from his wife Sudha to start Infosys and the rest is history.
Rishi Sunak Business Career
Given the fact that Rishi Sunak graduated from top institutions in the US and UK, there was no doubt that Rishi Sunak would be successful in his career.
Soon after completing his graduation from Oxford University in 2001, Rishi started his career as an investment banking analyst with Goldman Sachs.
Rishi worked with Goldman Sachs until 2004, after which, he moved back to London in 2006 to work with Children’s Investment Fund Management, a hedge fund management company.
Rishi was promoted to partner in the same firm in 2008. However, soon after his promotion, Rishi moved to California once again in 2009 to join another hedge fund, Thelem Partners.
Between 2013 and 2015, Sunak was also a director of Catamaran Ventures, the investment firm founded by his father-in-law Narayana Murthy.
Rishi Sunak Political Career
Rishi always wanted to be a politician, so while studying at Oxford University, he took an internship at Conservative Central Office (the headquarters of the British Conservative Party).
Rishi Sunak has been associated with the Conservative Party since 2010. Rishi was selected as a member of the party’s premier think tank, Policy Exchange, where he later became head of the Black and Ethnic Minority Research Unit.
Rishi’s political career took a sharp turn in 2014, when he was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the House of Commons representing Richmond.
From 2015 to 2017, Rishi was a member of the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
In 2018, for the first time, Rishi was given his first ministerial post as Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in 2018.
This was the time when Rishi was working closely with the then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In July 2019, Rishi became Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the following year in 2020, Rishi replaced Sajid Javid and became the fourth youngest Finance Minister of the UK.
Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July 2022, making Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss the leading candidates to become the next Prime Minister of Britain.
However, it did not go too well for Rishi, as he received only 42.6% of the votes compared to 57.4% in favor of Liz Truss.
Due to the difficult state of the economy, the Covid impact and some extreme changes proposed by PM Liz Truss, he announced his resignation on 20 October (only 6 weeks after becoming PM).
This was a golden opportunity for Rishi, which he did not let go and ultimately on 25 October 2022, Rishi Sunak became the first Hindu, non-white person to lead the United Kingdom.
In a span of just 7 years, Rishi rose from being an MP to the highest position of the country i.e. Prime Minister.
Rishi Sunak Achievements
In 2020, as Covid raged across the world, Rishi Sunak came up with a program that aimed to provide 330 billion euros in emergency aid for businesses. The program was the first of its kind and was well received.
In July 2020, Sunak announced a €30 billion spending plan that included a stamp duty holiday, job retention bonuses for employers and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.
This scheme was launched to generate employment in the hospitality sector. To promote the scheme, the Rishi government offered a 50% subsidy, up to 10 euros per person, on food and soft drinks at participating cafes, pubs and restaurants.
Later in October 21 of the following year, the government proposed a budget that included promises of substantial spending related to science and education.
In June 21, Sunak also hosted the G7 summit in London where a tax reform deal was signed.
Rishi Sunak Controversies
In April 2022, it was revealed that Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata, who was an Indian citizen, had claimed a tax status that allowed her not to pay UK tax on her overseas income.
The decision not to pay taxes saved his wife Akshata 20 million euros over a period of 7 years. However, she later agreed to pay 30,000 euros per year on her dividend income from foreign sources.
Rishi’s love for the UK was also questioned when it was revealed that he had a green card for US residence till the end of October 2021.
Rishi also faced criticism for his views about trans women in 2022, which he later clarified.
In April 2022, Rishi was fined by UK police for violating lockdown laws as he was on his way to attend a party with Boris Johnson.
Rishi Sunak Religion & Nationality
Rishi Sunak is an Indian British citizen and follows Hindu religion. Rishi has time and again been vocal about his Indian heritage.
Interestingly, Rishi had taken oath as MP of the House on Bhagavad Gita.
Rishi Sunak Net Worth
It is reported that Rishi Sunak’s personal net worth as of 2022 is 200 million euros (176,000 crores).
However, if you add Akshata’s net worth to Rishi’s net worth, it reaches 700 million Euros (over Rs 600,000 crore).
This makes Rishi Sunak one of the richest prime ministers in the country, ahead of the British monarchy.
Rishi Sunak Interesting Facts
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth, Rishi Sunak became the first Prime Minister to be appointed by King Charles.
Rishi is also known as the ‘Maharaja of Dales’ due to his net worth.
Rishi Sunak is known to be a fan of Southampton Football Club and even took a portable television to his school to watch England play during the Euro finals in 1996.
Rishi had confirmed during one of his interviews that he is addicted to Coca-Cola.
