Who is Akshata Murthy? All about Rishi Sunak's wife

UK PM Boris Johnson's leadership is in peril with Chancellor of the Exchequer of the UK, Rishi Sunak resigning from his post citing the former's approach being 'fundamentally too different'. Several other leaders, including Health Secretary Sajid Javed also walked out of Johnson's cabinet.

Sunak, who is currently the favourites to be Johnson's successor. Interestingly, if this happens, he would become the first Indian-origin PM of Britain. Amid the ongoing turmoil, Sunak's wife Akshata Murthy, too has come under spotlight for good reasons.

Akshata Murthy, the wife of Sunak and Britain-based fashion designer, has a familiar sounding last name that many Indians will recognise in an instant.

Murthy, the daughter of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and author Sudha Murthy, came to California to pursue her studies in Economics at Claremont Mckenna College, where she also took up French as a subject. With a Diploma in Clothes Manufacturing from Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, she started studying for an MBA at Stanford University.

It was at Stanford that she met Rishi Sunak, an Oxford alumni, who had won a prestigious Fulbright scholarship. Within four years, they married in Bengaluru in a two-day wedding ceremony attended by cricketing legends including Indian Spinner Anil Kumble and the family of Rahul Dravid, the former national captain of the Indian Cricket team.

The husband and wife have been in the news for the past couple of days over a tax row, as Akshata Murthy has been accused of using her non-domicile status as a tax saving of millions in the UK. Rishi Sunak has maintained that since Murthy is an Indian citizen, she complies with UK tax law as a resident and her tax categorisation is because India does not recognise dual citizenship.

Published on: Thursday, July 07, 2022, 04:24 PM IST