Who are Rishi Sunak’s parents?
Rishi Sunak became leader of the Conservative party and the UK’s 57th prime minister in October 2022. He is the country’s first British Indian prime minister.
His father Yashvir Sunak was born and raised in the colony and protectorate of Kenya in East Africa. His mother Usha was born in Tanganyika.
Sunak’s mother was born to parents Sraksha and Raghubir Sain Berry in Tanganyika, a former British territory located in present-day Tanzania.
Mr Sunak’s paternal grandfather, Ramdas Sunak, is said to have arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, to work as a clerk in 1935 from Gujranwala, which was then in British India but now lies in Pakistan.
Sunak’s parents met after migrating to the United Kingdom where Yashvir studied medicine at the University, and Mr Sunak is the eldest of their three children. The couple moved to Southampton in the late 1970s, where Rishi and his siblings were born.
The family were able to move to a six bedroom home and a neighbour has told The Times that Rishi and his siblings would play cricket in the street.
His mother’s pharmacy helped to fund Mr Sunak’s fees at Oakmout, a local prep school, before he moved to Stroud School in Hampshire.
“Their parents encouraged the children to do well and gave them whatever opportunities they could. They were lovely neighbours”, she said.
Mr Sunak has previously opened up about how his parents had to make sacrifices to send him to Winchester College, one of Britain’s most expensive private schools.
“I grew up watching my parents serve our local community with dedication. My dad was an NHS family GP and my mum ran her own local chemist shop”, Mr Sunak says on his website.
“I wanted to make that same positive difference to people as their Member of Parliament”, he added.
He said: “My parents sacrificed a great deal so I could attend good schools. I was lucky to study at Winchester College, Oxford University and Stanford University”.
His father previously remarked that the fees were “quite a large financial commitment”.
While studying for an MBA at Stanford University, Sunak met his future wife, Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Narayan Murthy, Indian billionaire and co-founder of IT services giant Infosys.
Mr Sunak met Ms Murthy long before he had embarked on a political career and become a Conservative MP.
Rishi Sunak’s parents in law
After graduating, Sunak worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, and later as a partner in a hedge fund. Sunak was also a director of investment firm Catamaran Ventures, owned by his father-in-law, Indian businessman N. R. Narayana Murthy.
With his wife Akshata Murty — the daughter of Narayana Murthy, Indian billionaire and co-founder of IT services giant Infosys — the couple are estimated to have a net worth of £529 million in 2023.
This ranked the couple in 275th on the Sunday Times “Rich List” in 2023. This was a fall from 222nd position from the previous year. The 2022 list put the couple’s net worth in the region of £730 million.
Sunak’s net worth makes him richer than King Charles III, who (before his inheritance) was estimated to have a net worth of around £400 million.
The couple’s most valuable asset has long been a shareholding in Infosys, an Indian IT giant set up by Ms Murty’s father. The £201 million dipin their fortunes has been attributed to a “slide” in Infosys’ share prices in 2022.
The couple have two daughters, Krishna and Anushka, whom they have largely been keen to keep out of the media spotlight
Does Rishi Sunak have siblings?
The prime minister is the eldest of three sibilings: his brother Sanjay works as a psychologist and his sister Raakhi serves as chief of strategy and planning at Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations global fund for education.
