As former UK Treasury chief Rishi Sunak prepares to take over from Liz Truss, to become Britain’s next prime minister, he will now be the country’s first colored prime minister and at 42, the youngest in 200 year.
He is also rich. Estimated at around C$1.1bn (£730m) by the Sunday Times Rich List, he and his wife are worth almost twice as much as Queen Elizabeth II, whose personal worth was estimated at around $657m Canadians by Forbes.
Sunak first made his fortune through his work at investment bank Goldman Sachs as a hedge fund manager in the United States, where he met his wife, Akshata Murty. Murty is the daughter of the billionaire founder of Indian tech giant Infosys and owns a giant stake in the company, and most of Sunak’s fortune is tied to his wife.
The future British Prime Minister also has a portfolio of four properties worth more than C$23 million spread across the world, according to The Guardian.
Sunak’s wealth has already raised eyebrows in Downing Street, particularly in April when it emerged Murty was not paying UK tax on his overseas earnings. The practice was legal, but it was criticized at a time when Sunak was raising taxes as treasury chief.
Now that he is one of the richest leaders in the world, how does he compare to popular leaders in other countries? Here are their estimated values:
CANADA: PM JUSTIN TRUDEAU IS WORTH $1.2 MILLION
Justin Trudeau’s 2013 Liberal leadership campaign revealed to the Ottawa Citizen that his personal fortune was worth C$1.2 million.
Most of this is inherited from his family; whose fortune dates back to the 1920s. Charles-Émile Trudeau, his grandfather was a lawyer and businessman who built his fortune by building service stations in the Montreal area and by investing in various mining and real estate. Some of the money that Justin’s father, Pierre Elliott, inherited from his father was eventually given to Justin and his brothers. Details on Trudeau’s exact legacy are still unclear.
Trudeau receives an estimated annual salary of C$368,400 as Prime Minister of Canada. This includes a basic income of $189,500 for his premiership and an additional $178,900 for his job as MP for Papineau. In addition, he receives a car allowance of $2,000 each year.
Although their methodology is undisclosed, Trudeau is believed to be worth around C$10 million, according to the Celebrity Net Worth website.
UNITED STATES: PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN IS WORTH $10.9 MILLION
US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill have a combined net worth of C$10.9 million, estimates Forbes. Often referring to himself as “middle-class Joe,” during his political career, reports show the couple’s wealth is relatively recent, amassed during Biden’s career as vice president and President.
According to tax records and financial statements made public by the Biden campaign and posted on the campaign’s website, the couple’s wealth comes primarily from book royalties and speaking engagements.
He currently holds at least $950,000 in cash accounts and owns two homes with a total value of more than C$5.5 million (net debt), according to Forbes.
AUSTRALIA: PM ANTHONY ALBANESE IS WORTH UP TO $6.8 MILLION
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s exact net worth has not been disclosed by his government, although it is widely known in the country that he comes from a humble background as the only child of a single mother. .
He recently came under fire over his property portfolio which is believed to be worth C$6.8 million, according to the Daily Mail and News.com.
According to property records obtained by the Daily Mail, he owns several investment properties in Sydney and Canberra; most of which are worth millions of dollars separately.
RUSSIA: VLADIMIR PUTIN’S WORTH IS UNKNOWN
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, who claims a salary of just $140,000 a year, is often believed to be one of the richest people on the planet, according to Fortune magazine.
The Kremlin maintains that Putin earns a small income and resides in an 830 square foot apartment, but political pundits have often raised concerns about the validity of these claims.
He is said to own or have access to a huge palace and a C$137 million yacht, according to published reports. CTV News was unable to verify Putin’s connection to the palace or the yacht.
Putin’s personal wealth is estimated at C$95.8 billion by Stanislav Belkovsky, a Russian political analyst who once advised the Kremlin but now advises the opposition, The Business Insider reported.
A vocal critic of the Kremlin before becoming one of the biggest investors in Russia, financier Bill Browder testified before the US Congress in 2017 that he believed Putin was worth C$274 billion, according to prepared remarks obtained by The Atlantic .
UKRAINE: VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY IS WORTH $27 MILLION
Thanks to his stakes in a successful television company, which he gave up when he took over, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is valued at between 27 and 41 million Canadian dollars, according to Forbes.
His main asset is an estimated 25% stake in Kvartal 95, a conglomerate that produces comedy shows, which he sold to his partners after winning the presidency but will likely recover after leaving office, reports Forbes. .
Zelensky played a Ukrainian high school teacher who is elected president in the popular political comedy “Servant of the People,” which was created and owned by Kvartal 95.
In March, Netflix, which previously aired the program between 2017 and 2021, bought the rights again. Forbes Ukraine estimates that Zelensky’s property is worth C$15 million with annual earnings of C$41 million.
With files from The Associated Press and CNN