Ex-PM Rishi Sunak Joins Goldman Sachs Advisory Board While Still in Parliament

Rishi Sunak, the former Conservative Prime Minister, is taking on a new advisory role with Goldman Sachs, the prominent investment bank. This appointment sees Sunak returning to his roots in the financial sector, where he began his career in the early 2000s. He will be offering his insights on economic and geopolitical trends to the bank’s clientele, signaling a significant post-premiership engagement.
A key condition of this new role is a strict one-year restriction on Sunak’s ability to lobby the government for Goldman Sachs. This measure is in place to prevent any immediate influence leveraging from his time in high office. Furthermore, in a philanthropic gesture, Sunak has committed to donating his entire salary from this position to the Richmond Project, a charity he established to promote numeracy skills.
The appointment received scrutiny from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which imposed standard conditions, including a two-year prohibition on lobbying since his departure from ministerial duties in July 2024. While Acoba flagged potential conflicts due to Sunak’s prior involvement with the “Edinburgh reforms,” policies beneficial to financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, they also noted his minimal direct input into their creation.
Goldman Sachs CEO, David Solomon, voiced his pleasure at Sunak’s return to the firm. Since leaving Downing Street last year, Sunak has largely remained out of the political limelight, opting for academic roles at Oxford and Stanford. His considerable personal wealth, estimated at £640 million with his wife, continues to be a subject of public interest.