Rishi Sunak Joins The Sunday Times as Columnist: Insights from the UK's Political Leader

Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has racked up nearly £587,000 from various jobs since leaving office in July 2024, making him the second-highest earning MP after Reform Party leader Nigel Farage. This comes despite his promise to spend more time in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency, which he called "the greatest place on earth" during his final parliamentary appearance as PM.

Sunak will start writing a weekly column for The Sunday Times business section, covering technology, politics, and economics. His salary from this role will go to the Richmond Project, an educational charity he founded with his wife Akshata Murty in March. The couple's net worth sits around £640 million.

The former PM has been busy collecting advisory roles at major tech companies. He accepted positions as consultant at both Microsoft and AI company Anthropic earlier this month. He also joined Goldman Sachs as a senior advisor in July 2025, though no income from this role has been declared yet.

His speaking fees have been particularly lucrative. Sunak earned nearly £188,000 for just four hours of work at an event hosted by South Korean company Chosun Media in May. He received over £156,000 from California-based investment firm Makena Capital, and around £160,000 for a three-hour speech to Bain Capital in Boston.

Sunak also took on academic positions at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government and Stanford University's Hoover Institution, which he claimed were unpaid. But official records show he received more than £81,000 for "60 hours" from the Hoover Institute. According to the records, this money was "to cover expenses only, not for working hours."

Earlier this year, Sunak joined the Washington Speakers Bureau, a high-end agency representing political and business figures. This move into the lucrative speaking circuit follows a well-worn path for former prime ministers looking to cash in on their experience and connections.

The earnings highlight how quickly former political leaders can monetize their expertise, particularly in areas like AI and technology where government insight is valuable to private companies. For investors and businesses, having access to someone who recently held the UK's top political office provides insider knowledge about regulatory trends and policy directions.