Rishi Sunak's mother-in-law claims SHE is reason son-in-law's success

‘Behind every good man’ How Rishi Sunak’s mother-in-law Sudha Murty went from a modest middle-class home in India to the matriarch of her family’s £3bn fortune as she claims that SHE is the real reason for tech tycoon husband and son-in-law’s success

• Sudha Murty boasted that her daughter was driving force behind Sunak’s rise
• Sources close to Sudha described her as the ‘influential force’ in their lives 

Friends of Rishi Sunak’s mother-in-law say she is now one of the most powerful women in British politics after she mused that his ascension to Prime Minister is down to her daughter.

Sudha Murty hit the headlines this week when she boasted that Sunak’s wife was the real driving force behind his rise from fledgling MP to Number 10.

Bringing to life the adage that behind every successful man there ‘stands a woman’, the talkative matriarch behind the family’s $63 billion Infosys business conglomerate proclaimed that she was ‘able to succeed in making my husband a businessman.’ But she added with great pride: ‘But my daughter has made her husband Prime Minister of the UK.’

Despite crediting her daughter Akshata for Sunak’s success, sources close to Sudha described her as the ‘influential force’ in their lives who has been instrumental in helping Sunak secure the top job in British politics.

A friend said: ‘Sudha is the family matriarch who has influenced and shaped her daughter, which has hugely benefited Rishi. She’s also inspired her husband Narayana Murthy to phenomenal business success and continues to pull the strings of the wider family as they go about their professional and personal lives.’

Friends of Rishi Sunak’s mother-in-law say she is now one of the most powerful women in British politics

Sudha Murty hit the headlines this week when she boasted that Sunak’s wife, Akshata (pictured together at Stanford) was the real driving force behind his rise from fledgling MP to Number 10

Another added: ‘Sudha’s life has been one of overcoming the odds and being single minded enough to achieve your goals. She has been an inspiration not just to her daughter but to women across India.

‘Akshata has inherited her mother’s determination and drive and Rishi has reaped the rewards by becoming a political success in such a relatively short period of time. He’s got two very strong women backing him.’

Speaking to an audience at a charitable event in India, Sudha confided that she had managed to get Sunak to fast every Thursday in honour of a Hindu guru the Murty family worship and that he was happy to accommodate this into his busy schedule to keep his wife and them happy.

Akshata, a wealthy businesswoman in her own right whose personal fortune is worth an estimated £1 billion recently indicated that she owes her steely determination and success to her mother who instilled in her values of ‘hard work, humility and selflessness.’

So just who is the PM’s mother-in-law who has emerged as major force in Number 10 and the lives of the Sunak family?

Sudha is a celebrated author, philanthropist and educator in her native India who is married to Narayana Murthy, one of the country’s richest men who is worth more than £3 billion.

She was raised in a modest middle-class home and was born in August 1950 in Shiggaon, Karnataka, south India. Her father RH Kulkarni was a surgeon while her mother Vimala Kulkarni, worked as a teacher in a local school.

Sudha was raised in a modest middle-class home and was born in August 1950 in Shiggaon, Karnataka, south India

One of three siblings, their grandparents also lived with them and helped raise the children in what she once described as ‘an atmosphere of education’ where females were encouraged to pursue their ambitions, which was not the cultural norm in India at the time.

She was the only female student at an engineering college she studied at in the late 1960s in Karnataka and was admitted on the condition that she only ever wore a sari, never spoke to male students and did not visit the canteen.

In 1974, she became the first female engineer to be hired by the TATA group, India’s leading auto manufacturer and worked in Pune, south India after famously writing to the firm’s boss to complain about the fact that they did not hire females.

She gave up a scholarship to study in the US so that she could be a ‘champion’ for Indian women in the engineering industry.

It was here that she met her future husband Narayana, now aged 74 after they were introduced by a mutual friend. They married in February 1978 in a traditional ceremony, kick starting their rags to riches rise.

In 1981, she helped him set up Infosys, a consulting and IT services company and even provided him with initial capital investment of £100 (10,000 rupees).

Sudha gave up a scholarship to study in the US so that she could be a ‘champion’ for Indian women in the engineering industry

The company is now worth an estimated £50 billion and employs more than 343,000 people around the world with Mr Murthy earning a reputation as of India’s most visionary businessmen.

But it is Sudha who is credited as being the kingmaker behind his empire, providing valuable advice and assistance to her husband and raising their two children while he was building the company.

She once said in an interview: ‘We always cared for the family, children, grandchildren and took our work seriously. We respect, we give space to each other. We advise each other, but we do not interfere in each other.’

Despite the close bond between Sudha and Akshata, and the former’s influence on her, the two could not live more contrasting lives, which sometimes leads to tensions between mother and daughter.

Sudha is a life-long vegetarian, along with her husband, who dresses in simple saris and is deeply religious. Given their huge wealth, the couple live in a modest home by their standards in a suburb of Bengaluru and are regularly seen taking evening walks without security close to where they live.

In 1981, Sudha helped her husband set up Infosys, a consulting and IT services company and even provided him with initial capital investment of £100 (10,000 rupees)

They shun A list parties and despite being billionaires, the couple are known for living a frugal life with Sudha happy to spend her day at home focusing on her philanthropic activities, writing and praying and meditating.

In a 2018 interview, Sudha revealed there was no television in the family home and evenings were spent with the whole family ‘doing something productive.’

She also claimed that she had adopted a no shopping policy and had not bought a new sari for over 20 years.

Akshata on the other hand is known for her love of expensive designer clothes, fine food and drink and has hit the headlines with Sunak over expensive refurbishments at Number 10 and their private home, which cost more than £1 million.

The couple own a £6.6 million mews house in Kensington, west London, a sprawling manor house in North Yorkshire and another first-floor London flat less than a mile from the mews mansion, which they use as a holiday home for visiting relatives.

They also keep a home in Santa Monica, California.

According to family sources, Sudha has often berated her daughter for ‘overdoing the shopping.’

Akshata is known for her love of expensive designer clothes, fine food and drink and has hit the headlines with Sunak over expensive refurbishments at Number 10 and their private home

While Sudha rose to success by studying at ordinary schools in India, both Akshata and her younger brother Rohan were educated at expensive private schools in Bengaluru and then respectively at Stanford and Harvard.

After spending many years supporting her husband and raising their children, Sudha began to focus on her philanthropic work and writing once their business became more established.

She has had dozens of books published in English and her native Kannada and established the Infosys Foundation, which works with some of the most underprivileged people in India.

According to reports, she has played a role in building 7000 libraries, new schools and more than 16,000 washrooms across India. She also previously served on the board of the Gates Foundation.

She is often referred to as India’s ‘most powerful and favourite granny.’

Earlier this month, Sudha received the Padma Bhushan award, one of India’s top civilian honours for her philanthropic work.

She was presented with the prestigious award on International Women’s Day by the country’s President Droupadi Murmu with the ceremony making headline across India.

Watching her receive it in New Delhi were her children Akshata and Rohan and devoted husband Narayana.

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