Rishi's richer by £122million

THE personal fortune of Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty soared by more than £122million in the past year to overtake the King.

- Stephen Beech

The couple's wealth jumped from £529million to £651million in the annual Sunday Times Rich List which works out as a 23% rise for the Prime Minister and businesswoman Ms Murty, both 44.

The leap was linked to her stake in Infosys, an Indian tech giant co-founded by her father N R Narayana Murthy. Her shares' value grew by £109million to almost £590million.

The list suggests that Ms Murty received about £13million in dividends last year, on top of more than £60million during previous years.

Analysts believes she is due to pick up £10.5million this year but the couple's riches remain below 2022's level of £730million.

Ms Murty became the director of venture capital fund Catamaran Ventures in 2013.

She also co-founded the London branch of Infosys with Mr Sunak who was in the stands watching his team Southampton in the playoffs against West Brom last night - and he transferred his shares to her shortly before he was elected as an MP in 2015.