Last year the combined wealth of the Sunak overtook that of King Charles, thanks to rocketing dividend payouts from the shares in her father’s firm
Rishi Sunak and his wife are earning nearly £1 million more a month than they did four years ago, without even saying a word.
The Chancellor and Akshata Murthy got their money through investments. Labour and the Liberal Democrats argue this shows how out of touch he is with the worst cost of living crisis of a generation.
The Chancellor and his successor Akshata Murthy got a 134% pay rise without them doing anything. Rather, it’s thanks to rapidly growing dividends from the shares she owns in her father’s company.
And Sunak is enjoying higher returns on secret investments from his time as a hedge fund manager.
It will be hard to fathom our result because for the first time since 1955 the average voter will go to the polls in a worse mood than after the last election.
According to the Office for National Statistics, average real disposable household income has fallen by 1% per capita since 2019.
By comparison, the Sunak family’s combined income has increased by 88% in real terms, even allowing for inflation, since the last election. Last year their combined wealth exceeded that of King Charles.
Jonathan Ashworth, shadow paymaster and Labour candidate for Leicester South, said: He is totally out of touch with reality.
“Under the Conservatives, taxes on working people have risen to the highest level in 70 years.
“Jeremy Hunt has admitted his election manifesto was unfunded. The Conservatives’ uncalculated plans would mean mortgages rise by £4,800.
“We need a Government that understands working people.”
Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman, added: “It is no wonder the Chancellor is completely oblivious to the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.”
“The top 0.1% must start paying their fair share of tax, starting with closing loopholes.”
Our investigation found that Martys received dividends from his inherited Infosys shares to £550m, up from £7.16m in 2020. 16.94m this year. The next payment of £10.36m will be made three days before the general election.
Meanwhile, Sunak’s tax returns show he earned £2.23m last year, up from £1.02m in the 2019/20 tax year.
The £139,477 he earns as Chancellor and Member of Parliament represents just 6% of his total income. Last year he almost doubled his dividend income to £276,218, but the bulk of his profits came from £1.8m of capital gains made on investments.
Overall, the couple’s income has increased by £11m per year – almost £1m a month before tax.
Analysis of Mr Sunak’s tax returns shows he paid 22% tax over the past four years, less than half the top rate.
This is thanks to reduced rates of tax on capital gains, meaning he is paying the same tax rate as a nurse who earns the same in a year as he earns in a week.
The average full-time wage that a senior nurse with eight years’ experience can earn is £42,210 a year, the amount he put in the bank every week last year.
Mr Sunak put these investments into a blind trust when he joined government and is not required to disclose them.
Until recently, Marty’s non-dom status could have meant that her dividends were tax-free, saving her an estimated £20 million in income tax over seven years.
After the controversy over her non-dom status in 2022, she vowed to pay UK tax on all her worldwide income.
Dividends are distributions from companies to shareholders and are often paid twice a year in large companies.
Capital gains are profits made when an asset such as shares or property rises in value and you incur tax when you sell it.
The wealthy pay a lower tax rate on capital gains and dividends than they do on their income.
He drew ridicule when he said he grew up without Sky TV.
When asked by an interviewer to give an example of something he didn’t have in his upbringing, the Chancellor said: “So we never really grew up like that.”
The Conservative Party did not respond to our requests for comment.
Spent £400,000 on his schooling
Rishi Sunak has repeatedly suggested that part of his advantage in private education was due to scholarships rather than his parents’ ability to pay.
However, there is no evidence that he received scholarships (worth more than £400,000 in today’s money) to the three private schools he attended.
Mr Sunak reportedly sat the exam for the Winchester Scholarship but failed and was therefore offered a normal fee-paying scholarship.
His team confirmed this to Channel 4 News in 2022, which matches his father’s statement to BBC2 in 2001.
He said: “The fees at Winchester were double what he would have paid if he had gone to his local school.”
Chancellor with four homes is the richest of us
Rishi Sunak is the richest Chancellor in history with a fortune of £15 million.
He and his wife, an heiress, own two houses in London, one in Yorkshire and a fourth in Santa Monica, California, valued at £5.5 million.
They own a five-bedroom terraced house in Kensington, west London, worth more than £7 million, and a second property in the capital, which is only used for family visits.
The couple’s country home is a Grade II-listed Georgian mansion which he bought in 2010 for £1.5 million in his Richmond constituency. It has a swimming pool, gym, yoga studio and tennis court, all set in 12 acres of grounds.
The Prime Minister owns four cars, including a £94,000 Range Rover, is a fan of £3,500 Henry Herbert suits and £450 Prada loafers, and also owns a £180 coffee mug.