Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his billionaire wife have given tens of thousands of pounds to one of the most expensive schools in the country, it has been revealed.
The Tory politician and Akshata Murthy had donated £100,000 to his old school, Winchester College, by 2020, Sky News reported.
He has continued to give money to the £43,335-a-year establishment, where he was head boy, since becoming chancellor.
The couple joined the Wykeham Benefactors club, which requires members to have invested £100,000 in the school, in 2020.
Beforehand, Mr Sunak had been part of the Wykeham Patrons club since 2014 – meaning he had given out more than £25,000 in the previous five years.
The donations go towards funding bursaries for children who would otherwise not be able to afford to go to Winchester College.
It comes as the chancellor is accused of being out of touch with families struggling with the skyrocketing cost of living.
The 41-year-old announced a raft of measures to help the public with higher energy bills, rising taxes and growing inflation during his Spring Statement last month.
His solutions included a cut to fuel duty, a higher National Insurance threshold and doubling the Household Support Fund.
But his response has been criticised as not going far enough – with some Brits currently having to choose between eating and heating.
The British politician previously spoke about how he credits Winchester College as a contributor to his success in life.
He told Sky News: ‘[Winchester College] was something that was really extraordinary, it certainly put my life on a different trajectory.
‘It’s part of the reason I’m sitting here and I’m really grateful to have had that opportunity.’
The Chancellor’s spokesperson said: ‘Rishi and his wife have donated to numerous charities and philanthropic causes for many years and will continue to do so.
‘These donations are made to help fund scholarships for children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to go to Winchester.’
Mr Sunak’s wife is the daughter of billionaire, NR Narayana Murthy, who founded the tech consultancy Infosys.
He was recently mocked when he reportedly borrowed a Sainsbury’s worker’s car for a photo op to ‘make himself look relatable’.
At the time, Good Morning Britain’s Ranvir Singh confronted Mr Sunak, saying: ‘Some people this morning are questioning why it is that the average worker is having a higher tax burden and yet millionaires and the oil companies aren’t bearing the same burden as they are proportionately.
‘And some people are now questioning whether you are the right man for the job. You have a millionaire’s lifestyle. And some people are saying, actually, you are out of touch with the truth of how this is going to hurt.’
Mr Sunak responded: ‘I’ve always been honest and open with the country about the ability of any chancellor [let alone] me to solve every problem, particularly when we’re grappling with global challenges that are challenging all sorts of countries in a similar way.
‘America’s having higher inflation than us, Europe’s very similar at the moment. But where we can make a difference, of course I’m going to act and make a difference and yesterday, that’s what we did.
‘We delivered a very significant tax plan which will put billions of pounds back in the pockets of hard-working British families.’
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