When Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister yesterday it was the first time the PM of the UK has been richer than the monarch. This is mostly due to the wealth of his wife, Akshata Murty who holds a stake in Infosys - a large Indian multinational tech company. The business is worth £9.6 billion and employs 345,000 people, as per The Guardian. The founder of Infosys is her father, Narayana Murthy.
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Humble life
Murthy has not changed his standard of living much despite his ballooning wealth. He has lived in the same Bengaluru flat with his wife for decades, drives a small car, does the dishes and is known for his hard work ethic and simple living.
Describing the birth of his daughter back in 1980 he said, as per CNN:
In those days we could not afford a telephone at home, and my then colleague, Arvind Kher, came all the way from our office in Nariman Point (in Mumbai) to our house in Bandra (a Mumbai suburb) to tell me that your mother had delivered you.
Entrepreneur
Much of the reporting on Narayana Murthy focuses on his entrepreneurial skills, his disciplined work ethic and his leadership skills. In an article in The Economic Times, he describes how he stays ground and tries to lead by example:
I travel by economy even today on domestic flights. I would be in the office at 6.20 a.m. every morning till I retired in 2011. That sent an indelible message to youngsters about reaching office on time.
Since Sunak became PM, Murthy has come out and said how happy he is at the appointment, stating as per The Guardian:
We are proud. We are confident he will do his best for the people of the United Kingdom.
Sunak’s promotion to Prime Minister makes him the first person of Indian origin to fill the role and, being ‘a proud Hindu’, he is seen a role model for much of the young Hindu population in the country.
Sources used:
- The Guardian 'His humility is genuine’: Rishi Sunak’s father-in-law, the billionaire who does the dishes'
- CNN 'Akshata Murty: Rishi Sunak’s wife is a software heiress who’s richer than royalty'
- The Economic Times 'Narayana Murthy shares 9 lessons learnt as an entrepreneur from his Infosys days '
- The Guardian '‘We are proud’: Narayana Murthy on son-in-law Rishi Sunak becoming UK PM'
Read more:
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