BBC News:
Rishi Sunak’s rise to power has attracted attention in India – and not just because he is the first British Asian prime minister.
His wife Akshata Murty is the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy, one of the country’s best known businessmen who has been dubbed the Bill Gates of India.
An heiress to a fortune worth billions, Ms Murty came under the spotlight when it emerged earlier this year that she held non-domiciled status, meaning she did not have to pay any tax on her earnings from outside the UK. She later agreed to pay UK taxes on her worldwide income.
Despite her family’s immense wealth, Ms Murty came from more humble beginnings.
In a letter to his daughter, published in a 2013 compilation, her father recalled how he heard the news of her birth in Hubli in April 1980 from a colleague because the family could not afford a telephone.
“Your mother and I were young then and struggling to find our feet in our careers,” he wrote.
When she was just a few months old, Ms Murty was sent to live with her paternal grandparents as her mother, Sudha Murty, and her father advanced their careers in Mumbai.
A year later, Mr Murthy co-founded Infosys, an IT services company which would make him one of India’s richest individuals.
