Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty lost about £49 million ($61 million) Monday after
shares in Infosys Ltd tumbled the most since he became UK prime minister.
Murty owns a 0.94% stake in the Indian software giant co-founded by her father Narayana Murthy. The company nosedived Monday after its guidance painted a negative outlook for India’s technology sector, leading to a wave of downgrades by brokers. It closed down 9.4%, the biggest drop since March 2020.
While the paper loss is a fraction of the Sunak family’s wealth — Murty’s stake is still worth more than £450 million — it also serves to highlight the gulf between the prime minister and ordinary Britons struggling in a cost of living crisis.
Sunak’s office declined to comment.
Murty’s wealth and outside interests have been a recurring theme in her husband’s political career. Last year, it emerged she holds non-domicile status and hadn’t been paying UK tax on overseas earnings. She said her arrangements were “entirely legal,” but also opted to start paying British taxes on those earnings
In a separate development Monday, UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg opened an inquiry into whether Sunak failed to declare a relevant interest relating to a minority stake owned by his wife in a childcare company. His office said the interest had been “transparently declared” and that the premier would cooperate with Greenberg.
The prime minister last month disclosed details of his own financial affairs, showing he paid more than £1 million in UK taxes over the past three years. His earnings from shares and capital gains easily eclipsed his political salary.
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