Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Call it the law of karma, or the Rotation of the Wheel of Righteousness.
In the 1770s, when the British started colonizing India, the South Asian country was said to be the wealthiest in the world, controlling a fifth of global trade.
When the British left the subcontinent in 1947, India was among the poorest nations. Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor estimated that the British looted nearly USD 45 trillion of wealth from India during its nearly two centuries of colonization.
The boot may, however, be now on the other leg.
India-born British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and his wife Akshata Murthy, are now richer than even King Charles III, according to media reports.
PM Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty’s wealth overtook that of King Charles, reported the latest “Sunday Times Rich List.”
The media outlet compiled the top 1,000 wealthiest individuals or families residing in the United Kingdom and ordered them by their net wealth.
As per this index, the Sunaks’ fortune has increased by more than £120 million over the past year. Overtaking the UK’s monarch King Charles, their wealth witnessed a jump from last year’s £529 million to £651 million in 2024.
While PM Sunak occupied the 245th spot on the list King Charles held the 258th rank after his wealth grew from £600 million to £610 million in the same period.
The Sunaks’ fortune is driven largely by Akshata Murty’s stake in India’s Information Technology behemoth Infosys, founded by her father NR Narayana Murthy. The Sunaks are the wealthiest residents of 10 Downing Street in history.
The Sunaks’ wealth also ranked higher than that of the late Queen in 2022, after Elizabeth II’s fortune was evaluated at £370 million.
However, the report added that estimating the personal fortunes of monarchs is tricky. The wider wealth of the monarchy, which includes various estates and palaces, has been estimated at dozens of billions of pounds.
PM Sunak also became the first front-line politician to feature on the “Sunday Times’ Annual Wealth List” in its 35-year history. This includes Sunak appearing on the list as Chancellor in the 2022 edition when the family’s wealth was estimated at £730 million.
The combined wealth of the list’s 350 wealthiest people amounts to over £795 billion, which is larger than the gross domestic product (GDP) of Poland.
The Chairperson of the Hinduja Group, Gopichand Hinduja, topped the list again in 2024, with his fortune touching £37.196 billion. Last year also, he occupied first place on the list.