Rishi Sunak is said to be putting forward former Google CEO and chairman Eric Schmidt for an honour.
The Prime Minister is said to have started the process of bestowing a gong on the US citizen in May this year, according to the Financial Times.
The move has stoked speculation that Mr Sunak – who studied in the US and kept his green card after becoming a minister – might be looking towards his own future if he leaves Downing Street.
The proposal is believed to be being handled by the Foreign Office which handles honours for non-UK citizens, including honorary knighthoods.
It involves less scrutiny than the route for UK citizens that is handled by the Cabinet Office and its vetting committees, according to the paper. All honours must be rubber-stamped by the King.
Rishi Sunak is said to be putting former Google CEO Eric Schmidt (pictured) up for an honour
Mr Sunak was also reported to have put forward JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon although sources close to him denied that this was happening.
Mr Schmidt was in charge of Google for a decade as it grew from a start-up to Silicon Valley giant.
One British diplomat told the FT it ‘wouldn’t be that surprising’ if honours awarded by the Conservative administration had a ‘particular financial sector flavour’.
They noted Mr Sunak had lived in the US and worked in finance before becoming an MP in 2015. He worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and then at hedge fund TCI.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured) is said to have started the process of bestowing a gong on the US citizen in May this year, according to the Financial Times
Mr Sunak has also shown an interest in the tech sector, pushing to make the UK a leader in AI and hosting the first big global summit on AI safety at Bletchley Park last year.
The Prime Minister has been criticised by his rivals for holding a US green card residence permit until 2021, well after he first entered government as a minister in 2018.
He and his wife, Akshata Murty, own an apartment in Santa Monica, California.