Rishi Sunak’s religion has been a question of interest among netizens as he is the favorite to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative leader and prime minister. Is he Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu?
Born in Southampton on 12 May 1980 to Punjabi parents, Sunak has been the Member of Parliament for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015. He had served as chief secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020 and as Exchequer Chancellor from 2020 to 2022.
Is Rishi Sunak Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu? His Religious Background
Rishi Sunak is neither Jewish nor Muslim, and rather, he is a Hindu politician. The 42-year-old has taken his oath at the House of Commons on the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu scripture.
Regarding his lineage with Business Standard, Rishi stated himself as a British Indian and said he is thoroughly British. Still, regarding his religious and cultural heritage, he is Indian, and his wife is Indian. He is open about being a Hindu.
Sunak has always been proud of his religion and has talked about his roots as a Hindu. He is a teetotaler and follows his religion and the cultural values provided by his parents with a sense of pride.
Rishi Sunak Parents, Siblings, And Origin
Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton to Yashvir Sunak and his wife, Usha. Both of them are of Indian descent.
Yashvir Sunak was the son of Indian parents who were from Punjab. Province, British India. They later migrated to East Africa, and Yashvir was born in the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya (present-day Kenya).
Likewise, Usha Sunak was born in Tanganyika (which later became part of Tanzania). She was a pharmacist with a local pharmacy, and her husband, Yashvir, was a general practitioner in the National Health Service (NHS).
RIshi’s grandparents moved from Africa to the UK in the 1960s with their children. His maternal grandfather had received an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his works for Inland Revenue, the tax office.
The couple moved to the UK, and Usha gave birth to three children, Rishi, Sanjay, and Raakhi. Rishi is the eldest among the three, as Sanjay is a psychologist. Raakhi is the Chief of Strategy and Planning at Education Cannot Wait, an UN-affiliated global fund.
Rishi Sunak Wife And Family
Rishi Sunak is married to Akshata Murty, an Indian fashion designer based in the UK. The couple has been married since 2009.
Sunak and Murty first met at Stanford University in California in August 2009. They have two daughters, Anoushka and Krishna.
Akshata studied economics and French at Claremont McKenna College and has a diploma in clothes manufacturing from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. She had graduated from Stanford University with a Master’s in Business Administration.
Rishi Sunak Net Worth -How Much?
Together with his wife, Rishi Sunak is estimated to be worth £730 million. The couple was placed 222nd in the Sunday Times Rich List 2022 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK. This led him to be the first frontline politician to be on the rich list.
The couple co-founded the Indian venture capital fund Catamaran Ventures in 2013. Akshata is also a director of Digme Fitness and the Soroco, co-founded by her brother Rohan Murty. She also owns shares in two of Jamie Oliver’s restaurant businesses.
Rishi’s father-in-law is the Indian billionaire, N. R. Narayana Murthy, the owner of the multi-national IT company Infosys. Akshata owns a 0.93% share in the company, and her unremitted income from Infosys dividends was £11.5m for the tax year 2021/2022.
The politician is the favorite to succeed Boris Johnson as the Prime Minister of England. He is expected to face a postal vote of party members against Liz Truss, with the results to be announced in September.