Rishi Sunak is a British politician. He is currently serving as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2022. He has been announced as the UK’s next Prime Minister after Penny Mordaunt and Boris Johnson dropped out of the leadership race. He is the Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. From 2020 to 2022, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and from 2019 to 2020, he served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He was selected as the Conservative candidate for Richmond (Yorks) in October 2014.
Sunak was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King Charles III on 25 October 2022, making him the first British Asian prime minister and the first Hindu to hold office.
1. Rishi Sunak is the first Prime Minister of South Asian heritage
Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England in 1980 to a family of Punjabi-Indian descent. His parents emigrated to the United Kingdom in the 1960s, where his father became an NHS doctor, and his mother opened a pharmacy. He belongs to an Asian (Indian) ethnic background. His new role makes him the first Prime Minister from an ethnic minority.
2. He is the youngest prime minister in the UK in 200 years
Rishi Sunak is only 42 & he is the youngest prime minister in the UK in 200 years. The only man who was younger than him was William Pitt who became the last Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1783 at age 24 and remained in power until 1801, and then became the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1804.
3. He once said he never wanted to be Prime Minister
In 2020, Sunak laughed off suggestions that he was after the top job. “God, no. Definitely not, seeing what the prime minister has to deal with,” he said. He then went on to hail his relationship with Johnson, saying: “We have a close personal friendship which then spreads through the teams where there’s an enormous amount of mutual trust.” Liz Truss supporters will be hoping Rishi’s wish comes true.
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4. Rishi Sunak (along with his wife) is richer than King Charles III (along with the Queen Consort)
The combined fortune of Prime Minister Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty is estimated at £730 million, which is double the estimated wealth (£300 million-£350 million) of King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort. Rishi and his wife, Akshata Murthy own four properties spread across the world which are valued at more than £15 million. Murthy’s reported 0.91% stake in Infosys (she is the daughter of N R Narayana Murthy) is thought to be worth around £700 million.
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5. He is the MP for Richmond
Sunak was selected as the Conservative candidate for Richmond (Yorks) in October 2014, defeating Wendy Morton. The seat was previously held by William Hague, a former leader of the party, Foreign Secretary, and First Secretary of State. He was elected as MP for the constituency at the 2015 general election with a majority of 19,550 (36.2%).
6. He is a Coca-Cola addict
In a 2019 podcast made with two schoolboys called George and titled “25 minutes and 4 seconds of cringe featuring Rishi Sunak”, Sunak revealed he had seven fillings caused by excessive consumption of Coca-Cola when he was younger. He told two school pupils in March 2021 that he “collects Coca-Cola things”, and that he was “a Coke addict,…a total Coke addict”. As the children sniggered, he rushed to clarify, “Coca-Cola addict, just for the record.” He went on to say his favorite was “Mexican Coke” because it is the only place it is still made with cane sugar and not fructose syrup.
7. He co-founded an investment banking firm
Before his career in politics, he worked as an analyst for the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs between 2001 and 2004. Then, he worked for the hedge fund management firm Children’s Investment Fund Management, becoming a partner in September 2006. He left in November 2009 to join former colleagues in California at a new hedge fund firm, Theleme Partners, which launched in October 2010 with $700 million under management.
8. He is a devout Hindu
Sunak was born to African-born Hindu parents of Indian Punjabi descent. He is the first Hindu-origin prime minister of the UK. His Indian parents, who had immigrated to the UK from East Africa in the 1960s, gave birth to him there. He took his oath on the Bhagwat Gita in 2015.
9. Sunak is a family man
Rishi Sunak is married to Akshata Murthy, a Britain-based Indian fashion designer, businesswoman, and the daughter of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy. They got married in August 2009 in a ceremony held in Bangalore, India. They have 2 daughters together named Krishna Sunak and Anoushka Sunak. While at Stanford, he met his future wife Akshata Murty.
10. He is a fan of the football team, Southampton FC
Rishi is a fan of his hometown football club, Southampton. He has previously held a season ticket and growing up his favorite player was Matt Le Tissier. He once got in trouble while he was at school for sneaking a portable television into the strict Winchester College so that he and his friends could watch England play in Euro 96.
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