Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has accepted a senior advisory role at investment bank Goldman Sachs while still retaining his seat in Parliament, marking a significant return to his pre-politics roots in the finance world.
The Conservative MP, who previously served as prime minister from October 2022 until the 2024 election, will offer economic and geopolitical advice to clients of the US banking giant. The appointment was announced by Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. “I am excited to welcome Rishi back to Goldman Sachs in his new capacity as a senior adviser,” Solomon stated.
Sunak is subject to post-ministerial restrictions under the rules of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which prohibit him from lobbying the government on behalf of the bank for two years from when he left office in July 2024. In line with this, he will be barred from engaging in lobbying activities until at least mid-2026.
According to Acoba’s approval report, the position will not involve any lobbying or use of insider information. Goldman Sachs provided assurances that Sunak will not “draw on privileged information from his time as prime minister, make use of contacts made in government to influence policy, or provide advice on the terms or subject matter of bids or contracts with the UK government.”
Sunak To Donate Salary To Charity
Sunak has pledged to donate his salary from Goldman Sachs to the Richmond Project, a charity he established to promote numeracy and education in his Richmond constituency.
The appointment is viewed by some as a symbolic return to the financial sector where Sunak first began his career. In the early 2000s, he worked for Goldman Sachs before transitioning into politics. Now, his return comes under heightened scrutiny due to his former role in government, particularly his association with policies that benefited financial institutions.
One such policy was the “Edinburgh reforms”, a series of financial service deregulations aimed at increasing London’s global competitiveness. While Acoba flagged this policy as a potential concern, noting that the reforms benefited banks like Goldman Sachs, the committee concluded that “Sunak was not personally involved in the development of the policy” and only met Solomon once in a group setting.
Since stepping down from the top job, Sunak has largely kept a low profile. In addition to his new advisory post, he has taken up academic roles at Oxford University and Stanford in the United States. He has not played an active part in frontline politics since the election.
Sunak, together with his wife Akshata Murty, a heiress to the Infosys technology empire, is estimated to have a combined net worth of approximately £640 million. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, their wealth surged by around £120 million in the months leading up to the last general election — a period during which many households in Britain continued to grapple with a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
Critics have questioned the optics of Sunak’s wealth and new corporate role amid public frustration over economic inequality, but his team has maintained that he remains committed to public service in his constituency and continues to respect all ethical boundaries outlined for former ministers.
READ ALSO: Mahama Set To Transfer UGMC To University Of Ghana
