Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murty overtake King Charles on UK rich list as fortune leaps to £651m

Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty are officially wealthier than the King as they place above him on this year’s rich list.

The prime minister’s wealth has surged by more than £120 million over the past year according 2024’s Sunday Times Rich List as they secured a place at number 245 on the list.

This means the couple beat King Charles by 13 places, despite the monarch’s wealth also increasing from £600 million to £610 million.

Mr Sunak and Ms Murty’s wealth was £651 million in the latest list, soaring from £529 million in 2023. Their wealth grew substantially despite the wider UK billionaire boom coming “to an end” in the face of tough economic conditions.

The rise was linked to Ms Murty’s small stake in Infosys, the 70 billion dollar (£55.3 billion) Indian IT giant co-founded by her billionaire father. Her shares grew in value by £108.8 million to nearly £590 million for the year.

The couple’s wealth however still remains below its level from 2022, when it sat at around £730 million for the year.

Meanwhile the King’s wealth grew by ten million in his last year as sovereign.

The list attributes his wealth to his extensive property portfolio inherited from his late mother including Sandringham and Balmoral as well as investments worth about £120 million.

However, his impressive wealth and position as head of state was still not enough to outdo the prime minister.

The list also recorded that the number of British billionaires tumbled again, continuing a theme seen in 2023.

The number of billionaires reached a peak of 177 in 2022, before dropping to 171 and falling again to 165 this year, driven by some seeing their private wealth contract amid high borrowing rates and others leaving the country.

Robert Watts, compiler of the rich list, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end.

“Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away.

“Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent.

“We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy.”

The list of Britain’s 350 wealthiest individuals and families together hold combined wealth of £795.36 billion, according to the new data.

This year’s list was once again topped by Gopi Hinduja and his family, who control the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group.

Mr Hinduja and his family saw their wealth rise to £37.2 billion for the year from £35 billion.

Meanwhile, a number of the UK’s highest profile billionaires saw their fortunes shrink over the year amid challenging periods for many businesses and investments.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sir James Dyson and Sir Richard Branson also recorded declines for the year.

Manchester United investor and Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe was the biggest faller on the list, with his net worth dropping by over £6 billion to £23.52 billion.

Sir James Dyson was the second largest faller, with the entrepreneur witnessing a drop to £20.8 billion from £23 billion.

Meanwhile, Sir Richard Branson saw his wealth fall further, dropping to £2.4 billion from £4.2 billion after a challenging year for Virgin Galactic.