The popular series The Apprentice is back and Lord Sugar is ready to invest in the new line-up of candidates. 

The candidates are in for a winning prize of a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar. 

But what is Lord Sugar's net worth and how did he make his money? 

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How much is Lord Sugar worth and how does he make money?  

According to The Sunday Times Rich List 2021, Lord Sugar's net worth is £1.2 billion, which is down £10 million from the year before. 

He is ranked 138th on the list, down 17 places from 2020. 

Lord Sugar left school at the age of 16 and briefly worked as a statistician for the Ministry of Education.

He began selling radio aerials and other electrical goods out of a van.

In 1968, he founded Amstrad, which stands for Alan Michael Sugar Trading. 

It was a general importer, exporter and wholesaler, soon specialising in consumer electronics. 

After just over 10 years, the company was on the London Stock Exchange and doubled its profits every year in the 190s. 

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He also bought Tottenham Hotspurs football club in June 1991 and had a majority stake in the club for 10 years.

He eventually sold his share of the club for £22 million. 

In 2007 he sold Amstrad to BSkyB for a huge £125 million. 

Lord Sugar also has an impressive property portfolio and set up Amsprop Estates in 1995. 

He still owns this company and Sugar's son Daniel now runs the business. 

Sugar is Chairman of Amscreen, a company run by his eldest son Simon Sugar, specialising in selling advertising space on digital signage screens that it provides to retailers, medical centres and leisure venues.

His ventures on  The Apprentice, which he has hosted since 2005, also help him top up his bank account. 

It is reported that he doesn't take a fee for the popular BBC show, instead donating it to Great Ormond Street Hospital. 

The Apprentice airs on BBC One and iPlayer at 9pm on Thursdays.