With a background in business, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is regarded as one of the wealthiest politicians in the UK.
On 6 September 2022, Nadhim Zahawi took over as Chancellor of the Exchequer after Rishi Sunak submitted his letter of resignation and Liz Truss, who just stepped down from her role, became UK PM. Since 2010, Zahawi has served as a representative for Stratford-upon-Avon.
As a politician, Zahawi's net worth has always evoked curiosity from the publication, but how does it compare to his predecessor?
Zahawi's background
Kurdish parents gave birth to Nadhim Zahawi in 1967 in Baghdad, Iraq. As hostilities between the Kurdish minority and Saddam Hussein grew, he was compelled to leave his home country at the age of 11 and travel to the UK with his family.
‘When you have to flee your home country, you experience hundreds of emotions at once,’ he shared to the Stratford Herald, ‘Yes, you are relieved to escape and grateful to the country accepting you, but also you feel guilt for those who haven’t been so lucky, those who didn’t get away.’
Starting school in the UK, according to Mr. Zahawi, was challenging for him since he couldn't speak much English at the time and because kids would call him racist slurs.
But according to the Mirror, the politician claimed:
‘Thankfully, being young, I was able to adapt quickly and picked up the language and things began to change. I find once people start to understand your hopes and ambitions, they are unbelievably helpful.’
Ibstock Place School in London, which charges up to £7,450 a term, was where Nadhim Zahawi attended. After that, he attended Wimbledon's King's College School, which charges up to £8,085 per term in tuition. He went to University College London to study chemical engineering for his degree.
Did Zahawi run for premiership?
Just days after taking office, the scandal-ridden Boris Johnson was invited to step down by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadhim Zahawi. With Mr. Johnson's resignation announcement, the race to become the next leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom officially begun.
Along with Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat, Liz Truss, Grant Shapps, Sajid Javid, and Jeremy Hunt, 55-year-old Zahawi entered the race. In the end, Liz Truss became the Tory leader and UK PM, but only lasted 44 days after failed economic programs made her the shortest-serving PM in history.
Zahawi's business
In May 2000, Nadhim Zahawi and Stephan Shakespeare co-founded YouGov, a reputable British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm. From 2005 until 2010, Mr. Zahawi served as CEO of YouGov.
According to the Express, he is also renowned as an astute businessman with various profitable investments in real estate.
Zahawi's political career
The 55-year-old was chosen to serve three terms as a Putney Councilor for the Conservative party between 1996 and 2006.
Later, he was chosen as a Conservative contender for the safe Conservative seat in Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was elected as its MP in 2010. Since then, Mr. Zahawi has won reelection in this district with a majority of 19,972 votes in 2019.
Under the premiership of Theresa May, Nadhim Zahawi held the position of Minister for Families and Children. He was named Business Secretary in Boris Johnson's government, where he was instrumental in the Brexit deliberations.
Mr. Zahawi replaced Gavin Williamson as Education Secretary in the 2021 cabinet change. He had been pushing for a nine percent wage increase throughout the previous week in an effort to stop teachers from going on strike.
After Rishi Sunak's resignation, he finally acquired the position of Chancellor.
What is Zahawi's net worth as of 2022?
Express has previously stated that after years in business and politics, Nadhim Zahawi may have a net worth of up to £100 million.
According to updated Companies House statistics, Lana Zahawi, who co-founded the real estate company with her husband, earned £1.1 million last year.
The report reveals that as of June of last year, the value of the real estate holdings was £83.7 million.
Read more:
⋙ Kwasi Kwarteng: What is his net worth?
⋙ Boris Johnson: What is the former PM's net worth?
