He may have to vacate Downing Street and Chequers, but don’t be too concerned that the former Prime Minister might be homeless. In a television debate with Keir Starmer, during which he was asked how his government would help young people to become home owners given another term in office, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak replied: “I want everyone to feel what I felt when I got the keys to my first flat”.
Mr Sunak still owns the first flat in Brompton Road, South Kensington, that he purchased in 2001 while working as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs. The property is now used to accommodate visiting family and guests. However, he’s added several more to his portfolio of properties since purchasing his first flat.
Mr Sunak married Akshata Murty in 2009. Ms Murty is the billionaire heiress whose non-domiciled status meant she is not required to pay UK taxes on income from outside the UK (although she said she would do so, to avoid her status being a “distraction” for her husband). Worth several million himself, Mr Sunak is well able to afford a few properties, and the couple’s portfolio is estimated to be worth £15 million, including:
A penthouse apartment on Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, with views overlooking the Pacific Ocean and worth around £5.5 million.
A Georgian manor house in Kirby Sigston, North Yorkshire (the one targeted by Just Stop Oil protestors, who took to the roof). The Grade II listed, 12 acre property was bought in 2010 and was formerly a vicarage. It has a lake and boathouse and is currently having a £400,000 renovation, including the addition of a leisure centre (with 40 foot swimming pool, gym and outdoor tennis court).
A five bedroom mews house in Kensington was purchased in 2010 and is the family’s primary residence. The four storey property was bought for £4.5 million and is now worth around £7 million.
And, of course, that original pied-a-terre apartment in South Kensington.