Rishi Sunak: Career, Resignation, and Net Worth

Term as Prime Minister: 25 October 2022 – 5 July 2024 ·
Previous office: Chancellor of the Exchequer (13 Feb 2020 – 5 Jul 2022) ·
Political party: Conservative

Here are the key biographical details, drawn from official records and verified profiles.

What happened to Rishi Sunak now?

Post-election status

• Sunak resigned as Prime Minister on 5 July 2024 after the Conservative Party lost the general election (BBC News, UK public service broadcaster).
• He remains an MP and Leader of the Conservative Party (Britannica, encyclopedia publisher).

Sunak delivered his final speech as Prime Minister on 5 July 2024 (GOV.UK, official government website), acknowledging the electoral verdict. He has not set a date to step down as party leader, but has confirmed he will do so once a successor is chosen.

Current political role

• Sunak is still the acting Leader of the Conservative Party (BBC News, UK public service broadcaster).
• He continues to serve as MP for Richmond and Northallerton, a seat he has held since 2015 (The Independent, UK news outlet).

His premiership lasted from 25 October 2022 to 5 July 2024 (Museum of the Prime Minister, historical archive). Keir Starmer replaced him as Prime Minister after Labour’s landslide victory (Britannica, encyclopedia publisher).

What this means: Sunak is no longer the country’s leader, but he remains a central figure in British politics until the Conservatives pick a new leader — a process that could take months.

Why did Rishi Sunak resign?

General election defeat

• The Conservative Party lost the July 2024 general election to Labour (Britannica, encyclopedia publisher).
• Sunak resigned as Prime Minister, conceding defeat, on 5 July 2024 (BBC News, UK public service broadcaster).

Conservative Party loss

• Labour secured a landslide majority, ending 14 years of Conservative government (Britannica, encyclopedia publisher).
• Sunak confirmed he would step down as party leader once a successor is chosen (BBC News, UK public service broadcaster).

The pattern: Sunak’s resignation was not a scandal-driven exit but the consequence of an electoral rout. He avoided a drawn-out transition, handing over power quickly.

How did Rishi Sunak make his money?

Career in finance

• He worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and later as a hedge fund manager (CNBC (business news channel)).
• He co-founded the investment firm Theleme Partners (Investopedia (financial education resource)).

Family wealth

• His wife’s family runs the Indian conglomerate Infosys (The Independent, UK news outlet).
• His wife Akshata Murty is the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy (CNBC, business news channel).

Political salary

• As Prime Minister and an MP, he earned a standard official salary, but the bulk of his wealth comes from investments and family holdings (politics.co.uk (political reference site)).

The trade-off: Sunak’s wealth has been both an asset and a liability in politics. It makes him an outlier among modern British leaders, but also opens him to criticism of being out of touch.

What did Rishi Sunak do as Prime Minister?

Key policies

• He introduced energy support schemes and inflation-fighting measures during the cost-of-living crisis (Britannica, encyclopedia publisher).
• He negotiated the Windsor Framework with the European Union to address post-Brexit trade issues in Northern Ireland (BBC News, UK public service broadcaster).

Economic agenda

• Sunak’s government focused on halving inflation, growing the economy, and reducing debt (GOV.UK, official government website).

Legislative record

• He implemented the Illegal Migration Act to deter small boat crossings (Britannica, encyclopedia publisher).

The pattern: Sunak’s premiership was defined by crisis management — post-pandemic recovery, war in Ukraine, and high inflation — rather than transformative reforms. His legacy will likely be judged on economic stability.

Where does Rishi Sunak live today?

Official residences

• During his premiership, he lived at 10 Downing Street and Chequers, the country retreat (Britannica, encyclopedia publisher).

Private homes

• He owns a townhouse in London and a family estate in North Yorkshire (The Independent, UK news outlet).

Since leaving office, he has returned to his private residences, though as an MP he maintains access to a parliamentary office.

What this means: Sunak’s lifestyle remains comfortable but not ostentatious by billionaire standards — his wealth is far above the average MP’s, but his day-to-day life as a backbencher is relatively modest.

How wealthy is Rishi Sunak?

Net worth estimates

• The Sunday Times Rich List estimated his and his wife’s wealth at £651 million in 2024 (The Independent, UK news outlet).
• In 2022, the same list put their combined fortune at £730 million (CNBC, business news channel).
• A May 2023 estimate from Investopedia placed it at about £529 million, reflecting a drop in Infosys shares (Investopedia, financial education resource).

Comparisons to other PMs

• He is widely considered the wealthiest former UK prime minister in modern history (CNBC, business news channel).

The upshot: Sunak’s net worth fluctuates with the stock market, particularly Infosys. Even at the lower end, it dwarfs that of any 20th- or 21st-century British leader.

Who is the richest prime minister of the UK?

Historical comparison

• Rishi Sunak is widely described as the richest UK prime minister in history, largely due to his wife’s family fortune (CNBC, business news channel).

Sunak’s ranking

• His net worth exceeds that of all his predecessors in modern records (The Independent, UK news outlet).
• Previous wealthy PMs, like Winston Churchill and Harold Wilson, earned fortunes from writing and speaking, but none approached nine figures.

The implication: Sunak’s wealth sets him apart in British political history. For voters, it’s a double-edged symbol of success and privilege.

Timeline of Rishi Sunak’s political career

The sequence below shows how quickly Sunak moved from Chancellor to Prime Minister to resignation.

The result is an unusually compressed arc, even by Westminster standards.

Confirmed facts and what’s unclear

Taken together, the confirmed record is solid, but the open questions concern party timing and Sunak’s own next move.

Key quotes

“The British people have delivered a sobering verdict — there is much to learn.”

— Rishi Sunak, resignation speech, 5 July 2024 (GOV.UK (official government website))

“Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty are worth an estimated £651 million, making them the richest couple in Downing Street history.”

— The Sunday Times Rich List, 2024, as reported by The Independent (UK news outlet)

For the Conservative Party, the leadership question remains urgent: either unify behind a new leader quickly, or risk further decline in the polls. Sunak’s departure from the top job closes a chapter, but the next one is unwritten. Related reading: Benjamin Netanyahu: Biography, Family, and Key Facts · King Charles: Health, Marriage, and Succession – Answered.

Frequently asked questions

What happens next depends on the Conservative leadership timetable, not on Sunak alone.