Although a large portion of this fortune is linked to Murty’s shareholding in Indian software giant Infosys, Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are estimated to be worth at least £630 million (and some estimates put the value at over £700 million).
Murty is the daughter of the successful Indian businessman N. Infosys was established in 1981 by R. Narayana Murthy (her last name is spelled differently from her father’s). The group currently has a market worth of $78 billion, and the IT creator has been dubbed the Steve Jobs of India. Forbes estimates that Murthy is worth about $4.5 billion. Murty currently owns 0.93% of the business, which is estimated to be worth $725 million or £630 million.
In addition to this investment, Murty and Sunak each have a sizable portfolio of real estate. Along with residences in London and California, they also own a Georgian mansion with 12 acres of land in Sunak’s native county of Yorkshire. The couple’s property is estimated to be worth £16 million.
Then there is Murty’s ownership of Catamaran Ventures UK, the British division of her father’s private equity and venture capital company. It oversees assets worth about $1 billion in India. Akshata Murty reportedly also owns stock in International Market Management, which is the sole owner of Mauritius-based Immassociates Mauritius, according to a Guardian investigation. Immassociates Mauritius has investments in franchising and fast food outlets all throughout India.
It is difficult to determine how much Murty and her husband might be worth because the majority of her interests are privately owned, but the share in Infosys provides us some clue.
Based on this, Sunak and Murty appear to be worth at least £630 million, making them wealthier than King Charles III.
Or does it?
Even more difficult is attempting to estimate King Charles’ worth. Most of us won’t be alive when Queen Elizabeth II’s personal will is revealed because it won’t be until 2112, when it will be made available to the public. David McClure, the author of The Queen’s True Worth, estimates that Charles might be worth up to £400 million if we believe that he would inherit the late queen’s direct riches. She also has a $100 million personal stamp collection.
However, as the reigning monarch, Charles III has access to properties that are held “in right of the Crown” or in trust for the sovereign, including seven royal palaces (including Buckingham Palace) and eleven castles, which Forbes estimates are worth a combined £22 billion. The Crown Art Collection and the Crown Jewels, each worth an estimated £7.5 billion, are further considerations. In contrast, Sunak’s portfolio begins to appear fairly modest.
King Charles III is also the ultimate proprietor of the Crown Estate because he is the monarch. This substantial portfolio of real estate is worth £15.6 billion and contributed £312.7 million to the general fund in the most recent fiscal year. A quarter of its earnings are given back to the king.
King Charles’s assets as a monarch total somewhere about £49 billion, even if his direct net worth is only estimated to be around £400 million.
With that type of riches, not even Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty can compete.
