According to CNN, when one of the richest men in India, N. N. Narayana Murthy R. Narayana Murthy first learned that the man named Rishi Sunak would be his son-in-law, he had mixed feelings.
"I was a little sad and jealous when you told us that you had found a life partner." He wrote in a letter to his daughter, Akshata Murty. The letter was published in Legacy: Letters from Illustrious Parents to Their Daughters.
"But when I met Rishi and found him exactly what you described – smart, handsome, and most importantly honest – I understood why you let your heart be stolen."
He said of the young man named Rishi Sunak. Sunak emerged victorious in a chaotic race, replacing Liz Truss as Britain's prime minister on Tuesday.
Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak
Not only will Sunak become Britain's youngest leader in 200 years, he will also be Britain's first non-white prime minister. Thanks in large part to his wife Murthy, Sunak would become one of the richest men to rise to the top of the British authorities.
Murthy owns a 0.93 percent stake in his father's Indian software company, Infosys, worth about $715 million. According to the Sunday Times rich list, this is the majority of the couple's £730 million (about $830 million) net worth. The Sunday Times Rich List is an annual list of the richest people in the UK.
Even Queen Elizabeth wasn't that rich — the Sunday Times said the late monarch's net worth before his death was £370 million ($420 million). The status of the super-rich has all but hindered Sunak's success.
In April, it was reported that Murthy had a tax status in the UK, meaning she could legally avoid paying taxes on her overseas income. Sunak, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, recently pushed the overall burden on British taxpayers to its highest level since the 2040s.
After trying to weather the storm safely, Murty issued a statement confirming the report. She tweeted, "In recent days, people have asked about my tax arrangements: to be clear, my income in the UK is already taxed in this country, while my international income is already taxed internationally. ”
"This arrangement is completely legal. In fact, how many non-domiciled people would be taxed in the UK. But it's clear that many people see this as out of place for my husband's role as Chancellor of the Exchequer. ”
Her unsettled status has caused controversy in Britain — which tax activists say benefits the super-rich. Murthy acknowledged her identity was controversial, saying she would give up its advantage.
"I understand and appreciate the British sense of fairness and I don't want my tax status to distract my husband or affect my family. Therefore, I will no longer file the remittance tax base. She added on Twitter.
Akshata Murthy
During the turmoil, Sunak turned to the independent adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the time when the country was already in a cost-of-living crisis. He was later exonerated of violating ministerial rules.
In August, in an interview with The Times, when asked about the couple's wealth, Sunak said: "I do think that in this country we judge a person by their character and behavior, not how much money they have in their bank account." I'm lucky today, I work very hard and my family works hard, that's why I wanted to do this job. ”
Murthy wasn't born into a wealthy family. Infosys was founded by her father in 1981, the year after she was born. "In those days, we didn't have a phone at home, and my colleague at the time, Arvind Cole, came all the way from his office in Nariman Point (Mumbai's business district) to our home in Bandera (a suburb of Mumbai) and he told me that your mother gave birth to you!" N· R. Narayana Murthy wrote in the letter.
"Since then, our lives have changed, we have enough money, but you know, our way of life is still simple." He added in the letter.
Sunak wrote on his website that he and his wife, Murthy, met in California while both were pursuing MBAs at Stanford University.
They married in the Indian city of Bangalore in 2009. Indian media described their wedding party as a "austere" event attended only by close friends and family, noting that the Murthy family was "known for respecting privacy".
Murthy later founded womenswear brand Akshata Designs, which was described in a 2011 mini-profile in the Indian edition of Vogue, an American lifestyle magazine, as "a combination of indigenous craftsmanship and contemporary Western silhouettes."
In the interview, Murthy said her love of clothes "baffled her mother," who was a "serious engineer" and couldn't understand why Murthy "spent so much time designing different clothes based on my wardrobe."
The Sunaks later had two daughters, Krishna and Anushka. In 2015, Sunak was elected MP for the conservative party's safe seat in Richmond, North Yorkshire.
In the UK, Murthy and Sunak are listed as directors of venture capital firm Catamaran Ventures, which was founded by her father, while Murthy is also listed as a director of Digme Fitness at Company House, a high-end fitness chain that went into bankruptcy after struggling during the pandemic.
In August, when Sunak first ran for conservative party leader, he told The Times that what made the two successful was the differences between them.
"I love neatness very much, and she's scruffy... I'm more organized, she's more casual... She wouldn't like me saying that, but let me be honest with you, she's not too interested in neatness. She was a nightmare, with clothes everywhere in the house, and shoes, oh God, those shoes everywhere..."
Sunak does not drink, which infuriates Murthy. He told The Times. "I really tried (drinking), my family drank, let alone my wife. I don't drink to make her angry. My parents love to drink, and my dad is often upset that I don't want to have a drink with him, but thankfully, my brother came, so nothing happened to me. ”
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