Ex-UK PM Rishi Sunak Joins Goldman Sachs as Advisor, Following Predecessors' Path

American investment banking giant Goldman Sachs on Tuesday announced that former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor. The bank noted that Sunak is rejoining them, having previously worked at Goldman Sachs as an intern and later as an analyst in the early 2000s.

“I am excited to welcome Rishi back to Goldman Sachs in his new capacity as a Senior Advisor,” said Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon. He added that Sunak, in his new role, will work with leaders across the firm to advise clients globally on a range of important topics, sharing his unique perspectives on the macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape.

“He will also spend time with our people around the world, contributing to our culture of ongoing learning and development,” Solomon added.

Rishi Sunak served as Prime Minister of the UK from October 2022 to July 2024. Under his leadership, the Conservative Party lost the 2024 parliamentary election in a landslide to the Labour Party. He subsequently stepped down as party leader.

Before that, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer from February 2020 to July 2022. He also served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. He is currently the MP for Richmond and Northallerton.

Sunak entered politics in 2015 when he was elected MP for Richmond (Yorks). He later became Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in 2017 before being appointed a minister.

Before entering politics, Sunak had a career in business and finance. He worked at Goldman Sachs, first as a summer intern in 2000, and then as an analyst from 2001 to 2004. He studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University and earned an MBA from Stanford University as a Fulbright Scholar. He remains engaged with both institutions through roles at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford and the Hoover Institution at Stanford.

Following the Path of His Predecessors

Sunak’s move to Goldman Sachs mirrors that of previous UK Prime Ministers who took on advisory roles in the private sector after leaving office.

David Cameron, who returned to government as Foreign Secretary under Sunak, held several advisory positions in the private sector, including at Finback Investment Partners, Caxton Associates, and PayCargo, and was also in talks with law firm DLA Piper.

Tony Blair, immediately after stepping down as Prime Minister in 2007, became the Special Envoy to the Middle East Quartet, serving until 2015. He also held advisory roles in consulting and finance, including at JP Morgan and Zurich Financial Services.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List of 2024, Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty saw their personal wealth rise by $157 million (£122 million) over the past year, reaching $837 million (£651 million). The increase was largely due to Murty's shares in Indian IT firm Infosys, co-founded by her father. Their fortune now surpasses that of King Charles III, whose personal wealth is estimated at $784 million (£610 million).

Sunak will donate his Goldman Sachs earnings to the Richmond Project, a charity he and his wife founded to boost numeracy skills in the UK.