London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Akshata Murty: Who is Rishi Sunak's wife?

Akshata Murty: Who is Rishi Sunak's wife?

Rishi Sunak's rise to power has attracted attention in India - and not just because he is the first British Asian prime minister.

His wife Akshata Murty is the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy, one of the country's best known businessmen who has been dubbed the Bill Gates of India.

An heiress to a fortune worth billions, Ms Murty came under the spotlight when it emerged earlier this year that she held non-domiciled status, meaning she did not have to pay any tax on her earnings from outside the UK. She later agreed to pay UK taxes on her worldwide income.

Despite her family's immense wealth, Ms Murty came from more humble beginnings.

In a letter to his daughter, published in a 2013 compilation, her father recalled how he heard the news of her birth in Hubli in April 1980 from a colleague because the family could not afford a telephone.

"Your mother and I were young then and struggling to find our feet in our careers," he wrote.

When she was just a few months old, Ms Murty was sent to live with her paternal grandparents as her mother, Sudha Murty, and her father advanced their careers in Mumbai.

A year later, Mr Murthy co-founded Infosys, an IT services company which would make him one of India's richest individuals.

Ms Murty's high-achieving parents also instilled a focus on education and hard work on their two children. Mr Murthy said there was no TV in their home to make time for "things like studying, reading, discussions and meeting friends".

She went on to study economics and French at the private liberal Claremont McKenna College in California. Ms Murty then earned a diploma at a fashion college before working at Deloitte and Unilever and studying for an MBA at Stanford University.

It was at university that she met Mr Sunak. The couple married in 2009 and went on to have two daughters.

The 42-year-old began her career in finance in California before starting her own fashion label, Akshata Designs, which launched its first collection in 2011. She told Vogue India she worked with artists in remote Indian villages to create her designs, which were about "authenticity, craftsmanship and protecting a rich heritage".

However, the Guardian reported that the business collapsed within three years.

Ms Murty was seen alongside her husband's parents during the summer Conservative leadership race


One of her main business interests is the London-based offshoot of Catamaran Ventures, which was founded by Ms Murty and Mr Sunak in 2013 and invests in start-ups.

On Companies House, Ms Murty is also listed as a director of Digme Fitness, a pay-as-you-go gym chain.

The company was put into administration in February this year after revenues dropped during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite receiving furlough funds.

Ms Murty's LinkedIn profile also lists her as a director of New & Lingwood, which sells high-end menswear.

She owns a 0.9% stake in Infosys, according to the company's latest annual report, which is estimated to be worth about £700m.

Her shares in the company became a subject of controversy following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when the firm was under pressure to halt its operations in Moscow. In April, the BBC was told Infosys was closing its office in Russia.

More broadly, the couple's huge wealth has led some to question whether Mr Sunak is out of touch with ordinary people, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis.

In the past, some prime ministerial spouses, including Theresa May's husband Philip May have kept a low profile.

Others, like human rights lawyer Cherie Blair, who continued her high-flying job after her husband Tony entered No 10, attracted much more attention. Mrs Blair often made the headlines in her own right for her charity work and book contracts.

So far, Ms Murty does not seem to have sought the media spotlight but has instead been thrust into it by recent controversies.

However, her husband's ascent to the top job in British politics means the interest in Ms Murty will only become more pronounced.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×