London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 08, 2026

Tax evasion rewards: Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty make Sunday Times Rich List

Tax evasion rewards: Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty make Sunday Times Rich List

Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his wife make the Sunday Times Rich List for first time with £730m fortune.

Their joint £730m fortune ranks them at 222 of the paper's annual list.

Recently, Ms Murty's tax affairs came under scrutiny after it was revealed she had "non-dom" status - meaning she did not pay UK tax on overseas income.

Ms Murty, the daughter of an Indian IT billionaire, later agreed to pay UK taxes on all her earnings.

Her 0.9% stake in her father Narayana Murty's IT company Infosys, estimated to be worth around £690m, earned her £11.6m in dividend income last year.

It is estimated her use of non-dom status could have saved her £20m in taxes.

The Sunday Times said the couple had made their first appearance on the Rich List now because it was only able to confirm Ms Murty's stake in her father's business over the last year.

Mr Sunak was later cleared of breaching the ministerial code after referring himself to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's standards adviser to check if he had properly declared all his interests.

A "non-dom" tax designation, short for "non-domiciled individual", is a term used for a UK resident whose permanent home, or domicile, is outside the UK.

Someone with the status only pays UK tax on money earned in the UK, but does not have to pay any tax to the British government on money made elsewhere in the world (unless they pay that money into a UK bank account).

Meanwhile, the latest ranking of the 250 richest people in Britain also revealed a record 177 billionaires in the UK this year, the Sunday Times said.

Overall, the richest individuals and families in the UK this year are worth £711bn, an 8% rise on last year's £658bn.

The expanding fortunes of Britain's wealthiest people comes amid a growing cost of living crisis, with UK inflation rising sharply to 9% in the year to April - meaning prices are rising at their fastest rate for 40 years.

In February, Mr Sunak announced a £9bn package of measures, including a £150 discount to council tax and a £200 loan for energy bills in the autumn, but he is under increasing pressure to offer more support to households as energy bills and food prices continue to rise.

Sri and Gopi Hinduja, who run the India-based conglomerate Hinduja Group, topped the list with their £28.47bn fortune - a growth of more than £11bn in a year.

Entrepreneur Sir James Dyson and his family jumped to second in the rich list after a £6.7bn increase to £23bn.


Who makes the top 10?


According to the Sunday Times, the 10 richest families and individuals in the UK, the estimated value of their fortunes and the primary source of their wealth are:

*  Sri and Gopi Hinduja and family - £28.47bn (industry and finance)
*  Sir James Dyson and family - £23bn (household goods and technology)
*  David and Simon Reuben and family- £22.26bn (property and internet)
*  Sir Leonard Blavatnik - £20bn (investment, music and media)
*  Guillaume Pousaz- £19.259bn (online payments)
*  Lakshmi Mittal and family - £17bn (steel)
*  Christoph Henkel and family - £15bn (chemicals)
*  Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family - £13.5bn (retailing)
*  Kirsten and Jorn Rausing - £12bn (inheritance and investment)
*  Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho - £11.42bn (inheritance, brewing and banking)

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's ranking dropped sharply after being sanctioned over the Ukraine war


However, Chelsea owner and Russian steel magnate Roman Abramovich's wealth halved in a year to £6bn - dropping him 20 places from his 2021 ranking to 28th on this year's rich list.

The oligarch is the biggest loser of all in this year's Rich List, the Sunday Times said.

The plummet in Mr Abramovich's fortunes followed his being sanctioned over the war in Ukraine, the enforced sale of Chelsea and the sharp fall in his shares in steel company Evraz.

The premier league club is expected to be sold in late May, after £4.25bn deal to purchase it was agreed with a consortium led by American businessmen Todd Boehly.

Another notable billionaire with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin whose fortunes have suffered since sanctions were imposed, if not so dramatically, is Uzbek-born Russian oil oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

His estimated worth dropped by £3bn to £10bn, falling from sixth to 11th place.


For more info, please visit https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list 

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Counter-Terrorism Police Lead Salford Investigation After Two Teenagers Charged
UK Rejects Financial Reparations for Transatlantic Slavery
UK and Egypt Step Up Diplomacy Over Escalating West Bank Tensions
UK Pauses Council Reorganisation Across Four English Counties
Jaguar Land Rover Plans 4,000 Job Cuts in Major UK Restructuring
UK Unveils Planning and Regulatory Overhaul to Speed Infrastructure and Economic Growth
University of Bristol Opens £500 Million Innovation Campus
Families Give Evidence to Independent Review of Sussex Maternity Failures
Sweden Confirms Deportation of 458 British Citizens Over Post-Brexit Residency Rules
UK Launches £3 Million Challenge for Long-Duration Energy Storage
Reform UK Proposes £100 Billion in Spending Cuts and Brownfield Deregulation
Andy Burnham Warns Macron That EU Procurement Rules Could Hurt British Steel
Andy Burnham Faces Major Decision on Future North Sea Oil and Gas Drilling
SEND Support in England Projected to Reach One in 10 Pupils
England’s Housing Courts Struggle With Surge in No-Fault Eviction Cases
Violent Clashes Erupt in Portsmouth During Protest Against Asylum Processing
Three-Quarters of NHS Emergency Staff Report Regular Violence or Aggression
UK Considers Converting Female Prison Space for Male Inmates as Overcrowding Worsens
UK House Prices Record First Annual Decline in Nearly Three Years
UK Government Reassesses Policy Toward Israel Amid Calls for Diplomatic Shift
Reform UK Faces Police Scrutiny Over Alleged Foreign Donations Scheme
University of Bristol Opens £500 Million Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus
Online Bookmakers Accused of Privacy Breaches Through Cookie Consent Practices
Health Campaigners Urge UK Government to Abandon U.S. Pharmaceutical Agreement
Three-Quarters of UK A&E Staff Report Regular Violence or Aggression
Far-Right Demonstrations Target Portsmouth as Small-Boat Crossings Fuel Tensions
UK Records Hottest Summer on Record After Severe Heatwaves
UK Travellers Face Renewed EU Border Delays as Temporary Flexibility Ends
UK Rejects Calls to Pause AI Data Centre Expansion Despite Energy Concerns
UK Defence Figures Push for 3% Spending Target Amid Falklands Concerns
England Faces Rising Financial Pressure as Special Educational Needs Plans Surge
Metropolitan Police Consider Reform UK Probe Over Overseas Donations
Keir Starmer to Leave Parliament, Triggering By-Election
UK Treasury Weighs Windfall Taxes on Banks and Oil Companies Amid Bond Market Turmoil
Jaguar Land Rover to Cut Thousands of Jobs as UK Government Rules Out Bailout
OpenAI Unveils GPT-6 and Says: "We May Already Have Reached AGI"
Congressman Accused Andrew of Sex Crimes in the United States
Donald Trump: "I'm Glad Harry and Meghan Left the United States"
Spicy Food Is Linked to Lower Death Risk — but It Is Not a Miracle Cure
AfD Enters Saxony-Anhalt Election at 41% in Historic Test for German Politics
Gen Z Turns to Investing as America's First-Home Dream Moves Further Out of Reach
Thousands Join London March Calling for Tighter Abortion Restrictions
Institute of Directors Says Tax and Regulatory Uncertainty Still Weighs on UK Investment
Bank of England Faces Rate Dilemma as Weak Growth and Persistent Inflation Raise Stagflation Risks
Masked Anti-Immigration Protesters Block Roads to Port of Dover
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Sets Out Devolution and Re-Industrialisation Agenda
British Chambers of Commerce Forecasts UK Growth of Just 1% Through 2027
UK Government Advances Bill to Tighten Rules on Overseas Political Donations
Nigel Farage Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Reform UK Donation-Law Evasion
Thousands Join Anti-Abortion March Through Central London
×