FANS of The Apprentice know and love Lord Alan Sugar, thanks to his no nonsense attitude when it comes to the candidates.
But before finding TV fame, he had already built up an empire and was even the boss at a premiership football club.
Who is Lord Sugar?
Lord Alan Sugar was born 24 March 1947, in Hackney, East London.
Although he is a businessman, over the years Sugar is known by reality TV fans for his major role on The Apprentice.
I can assure you I’ve got plenty of other things to do in my life, but I do enjoy it [The Apprentice].
Lord Alan Sugar
Speaking about why he loves the show so much, he told the BBC: “Well, I love it. I love doing it.
“If I didn’t like doing it, I wouldn’t do it.
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“And what I enjoy about it is that it’s growing acorns to oak trees.
“It’s finding a person and starting all over again and doing exactly what I did back in the ’60s.”
He then added: “I can assure you I’ve got plenty of other things to do in my life, but I do enjoy it.”
How did Lord Sugar earn his fortune?
The business mogul has earned his money through a string of business ventures, most notably founding Amstrad, a computer and electronics company, in 1968.
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At the height of its success, Amstrad alone was worth an estimated £1.2billion, however, it was sold in 2007 to BSkyB for £125million.
On top of this, he runs Amsprop alongside his son, Daniel Sugar, who acts as MD for Amsprop Estates.
The company invests in commercial property across London and Essex and has since sold on some of their portfolios to other investors for a significant profit.
In 2015, the firm sold Burberry’s Haymarket flagship store location on for more than double the price – cashing in a £65million cheque on a property that cost them £31.5million.
How did Lord Sugar become famous?
Lord Sugar first rose to mainstream attention as frontman of The Apprentice.
Prior to the now long-running show hitting our screens in 2005, he was not known beyond his business ventures.
As well as continuing to helm the show, he also fronted the spin-off programme Young Apprentice which ran from 2010 to 2012.
Lord Sugar has also appeared on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and An Audience with Jeremy Beadle.
He has also appeared as himself in a cameo in Doctor Who, and again in an EastEnders Children In Need special in 2012.
When was Lord Sugar chairman of Tottenham Hotspur FC?
Lord Sugar was chairman of Tottenham Hotspur from 1991 to 2001.
An avid supporter of the team, Sugar teamed up with the late Terry Venables to buy the club to help bail it out of financial troubles.
However, two years later Sugar sacked Venables and later won a legal battle against him when the former footballer appealed to the high courts.
The move was unpopular among fans, who felt he was treating the club as a business rather than a passion project.
In 2001, he sold the majority stake of his shares for an estimated £22million, before selling the rest six years later for £25million.
Sugar branded his sixteen-year investment in the club as a “waste of his life”.
Who is Lord Sugar’s wife Ann?
Alan is married to Ann Simons, who was a hairdresser when she met her husband in the 60s.
He was just 18 at the time, while Ann was 16, and they got married two years later in 1968.
Anne has another celebrity connection, as she the aunt of former EastEnders star Rita Simons.
Does Lord Sugar have any children?’
The couple have three children together.
Their first son, Simon, was born in 1969, who was followed by Daniel, in 1971.
Their only daughter, Louise, was then born in 1974.
The Sugar family home is in Chigwell, Essex.
What is Lord Sugar’s net worth?
It’s fair to say that Lord Sugar is one VERY wealthy man.
As of 2024, he has a net worth at £1.21billion.
Meanwhile, kindhearted Lord Sugar donates his fees for his work on The Apprentice to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
