LONDON — Former U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rejoined investment giant Goldman Sachs as a senior adviser.
It is Sunak’s first senior outside role since he resigned as Conservative leader after Labour’s landslide election win last July. It marks a return to the investment bank he joined at the start of his career in 2001.
“I am excited to welcome Rishi back to Goldman Sachs in his new capacity as a Senior Advisor,” Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO David Solomon said in a statement.
“In his role, he will work with leaders across the firm to advise our clients globally on a range of important topics, sharing his unique perspectives and insights 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.”
An adviser to Sunak’s office said he would be donating his earnings to the Richmond Project, a numeracy charity the ex-PM and his wife have set up.
Sunak, who is still the MP for Richmond and Northallerton, served as prime minister between October 2022 and last July, when Keir Starmer won his thumping election victory.
The former PM was first elected in 2015 and served as chancellor during the height of the pandemic, before resigning from Boris Johnson’s government in July 2022.
In a letter to Sunak published on Monday, the government appointments watchdog said the role with Goldman Sachs is “likely to have a broad overlap with your access to information in office” and, as prime minister, he could have “been privy to a range of high-level sensitive information on more or less all government-related matters.”
As a result, Acoba has restricted Sunak from some activities, including lobbying the U.K. government on behalf of the bank over the next 12 months.
“Goldman Sachs has a significant interest in UK government policy. As the former Prime Minister, there is a reasonable concern that your appointment could be seen to offer unfair access and influence within the UK government,” Acoba wrote.
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