Friday, UK media sites focused on Rishi Sunak’s money as a potential hurdle to him engaging with the post-pandemic British population.
The former chancellor, 42, has faced similar questions about his “rich” upbringing and wife Akshata Murty’s Infosys shares. He’s running against Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and British PM.
In “Rishi Sunak: Inside the Tory Leadership candidate’s Fortune,” which aired on “Channel 4 News” on Thursday and was followed up by other newspapers, Sunak’s camp claimed he has a “humble” and “modest” upbringing.
“It was a major financial commitment on our side because Winchester [College] costs double what you’d pay in Southampton. Sunak’s father, Yashvir, said in a 2000 BBC interview that it was expensive.
Sunak’s team claims he attended Winchester on a scholarship, but the former finance minister says his stay there was the result of his family’s hard work.
“I attended a great college. No scholarship, though. My parents sacrificed everything. My thanks won’t be enough. I learned early the value of family. In a speech at the UK-India Awards on July 1, he recalled working in his mother’s pharmacy in Southampton, England.
The Channel 4 investigation also unearthed land register records showing that the prime ministerial contender began expanding his real estate portfolio at age 21 by getting an interest-free loan from his parents to buy a one-bedroom flat in central London for GBP 210,000, which is now worth GBP 750,000. It describes his life in America, from his time at Goldman Sachs to his work as a partner at an investment bank operated by a Cayman Islands corporation.
Sunak didn’t contest receiving assets from tax havens, according to Channel 4, and he paid US tax on them. According to Channel 4, Sunak did nothing illegal.
Sunak and Murty rented an extravagant oceanfront property in Santa Monica, California, for USD 19,500 per month in 2009.
The channel’s study indicates that winning over the British public amid historic economic upheaval may be a much bigger job for him than winning over the Conservative membership to become Prime Minister.
The “Ready4Rishi” campaign team said that Sunak embodies Tory ideals.
The proclamation stated that “Rishi is the outcome of great work, kindness, and sacrifice.” His mother was a pharmacy and his father a GP, so he helped on weekends. They both worked long hours to provide their children the best education possible. He’s loyal to this country because it gave him, his parents, and his forefathers a better life. It comes as the latest YouGov survey of Conservative Party members shows his opponent, Liz Truss, has expanded her lead, 62% to 38%.
The poll, conducted Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, includes 730 of the projected 160,000 Tory voters. It indicates Sunak’s difficulties, despite his party’s success in the knockout stages.
