Zhengguan News Comprehensive Report At 14:00 on October 24, local time, Rich Sunak officially became the leader of the Conservative Party and British Prime Minister .
New Prime Minister Sunak Picture source network (same below)
This will be the first time in history 1 Downing Street occupants are richer than the monarch of Buckingham Palace . At this time, millions of British people are fighting the cost of living crisis.
How rich is Sunak?
It is reported that Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy's total wealth is about 730 million pounds (about 6 billion yuan), about twice the wealth of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Earlier this year, Sunak became the first politician to be listed on the " Sunday Times " UK rich list. He owns properties all over the world, worth over £15 million, almost comparable to the King.
For most of the time, Sunak, his wife and two daughters will spend in their five-bedroom apartment in Kensington, west London. According to real estate agents, the house is worth more than £7 million.
Sunak Georgia Manor
On the weekend, they will take a vacation at the Georgia Manor in North Yorkshire , which is located in the picturesque village of Kirby Sigston and is a Grade 2 protection unit. Sunak bought it for £1.5 million in 2015 and now worth over £2 million, it has been converted into a luxury villa with indoor pool, gym, yoga studio, hot tub and tennis court.
The soaring energy cost means heating this 60m2 indoor pool can cost more than £14,000 a year — almost six times the energy cost of an average household.
What do the people think of Sunak’s wealth?
The huge class difference has to make people wonder if Sunak will be too rich to understand the daily struggles of voters.
Sunak was once questioned for being "ungrounded". In an interview with the media, Sunak said: "I have aristocratic friends, I have upper-class friends, I have working-class friends...well, there is no working class." This has become a strong evidence that he has left the grassroots and is not in the world.
Sunak attaches great importance to his personal image and has always shown suits and ties. Ashley Blackley, a waitress in Darlington People's Assembly, believes that Sunak "has so much money to hire thousands of people to heat his swimming pool and hold parties, and single parents, pensioners and working families will be frozen and hungry this winter." This makes her angry. .
A Labour Party MP also said, "For most people, Sunak lives on another planet."
But there are also voters who do not care about Sunak's wealth, but pay attention to his abilities and character.
54-year-old Carrick has seen Sunak several times while hosting an event in town and rated him as “a lovely person” who has done a lot for locals and businesses. When asked about his wealth, she replied: "In this world, some people have money, and some people don't. You can't oppose him, but you can ask him to manage a government that takes care of the people."
analysts believe that having huge wealth does not mean not being able to serve as prime minister, but if Sunak does not improve the current hardship of the people during his presidency, his wealth will likely become a bursting point.
huge wealth is sometimes also a "negative asset"
Sunak's wealth, most of which comes from his wife Akshata Murti, the daughter of India's "father of IT industry" and billionaire Narayana Murti. But while Akshata brought huge value to Sunak, it also brought trouble to his political journey.
Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthi
Akshata is an Indian citizen, while her identity in the UK is "non-British settler". With this identity, her overseas income does not require tax filing in the UK. According to media reports, in 2021 alone, Akshata Muffie was exempted from paying £4.5 million in taxes.
At that time, Sunak was also the Minister of Finance. While he raised taxes to the working class in the UK, his foreign wife was avoiding taxes, a behavior criticized by people as "hypocrisy".
Speaking of his huge fortune, Sunak believes that voters don't care about the custom-made Henry Herbert suit or Prada shoes he is wearing when visiting the construction site. "Values are the most important thing, and what I wear has nothing to do with all this."
Indeed, for the current British people, the key is not how much wealth Sunak has, but whether he can bring wealth growth to the UK after becoming prime minister. For Sunak, this is undoubtedly a severe test.
Zhengguan News Reporter Wang Xiaofeng
