View source for Alan Sugar

{{Short description|British businessman and media personality (born 1947)}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name             = The Lord Sugar
| honorific_suffix =
| image            = Sir Alan Sugar at the BAFTA's crop.jpg
| caption          = Sugar at the [[62nd British Academy Film Awards|2009 BAFTAs]]
| office           = [[Enterprise Champion]] to the [[Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy|Business Secretary]]
| primeminister    = [[David Cameron]]<br />[[Theresa May]]<br />[[Boris Johnson]]<br />[[Liz Truss]]<br />[[Rishi Sunak]]<br />[[Keir Starmer]]
| 1blankname       = [[Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy|Business Secretary]]
| 1namedata        = [[Sajid Javid]]<br />[[Greg Clark]]<br />[[Andrea Leadsom]]<br />[[Alok Sharma]]<br />[[Kwasi Kwarteng]]<br />[[Jacob Rees-Mogg]]<br />[[Grant Shapps]]<br />[[Kemi Badenoch]]<br />[[Jonathan Reynolds]]<br/>[[Peter Kyle]]
| term_start       = 25 May 2016
| term_end         =
| primeminister1   = [[Gordon Brown]]
| 1blankname1      = [[Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy|Business Secretary]]
| 1namedata1       = [[Peter Mandelson]]
| term_start1      = 5 June 2009
| term_end1        = 11 May 2010
| office2          = [[Member of the House of Lords]]<br/>[[Lord Temporal]]
| term_start2      = 20 July 2009<br/>[[Life peer]]age
| term_end2        =
<!-- Personal -->
| birth_name       = Alan Michael Sugar
| birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|1947|3|24|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[London Borough of Hackney|Hackney]], [[East End of London|East London]], England
| occupation       = {{hlist|Business magnate|media personality|author|politician|political advisor}}
| party            = None ([[crossbencher]]) (2017–present)
| otherparty       = {{plainlist|
* None ([[Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords|non-affiliated]]) (2015–2017) 
* [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]<ref name="holbio">{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-sugar/3897|title=Lord Sugar|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom|access-date=24 March 2014}}</ref> (1997–2015)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gayle |first1=Damien |last2=Wintour |first2=Patrick |title=Alan Sugar resigns from Labour party over 'shift to left' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/11/alan-sugar-resigns-from-labour-party-over-shift-to-left |access-date=13 February 2021 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=11 May 2015 |language=en}}</ref> }}
| spouse           = {{marriage|Ann Simons|28 April 1968}}
| children         = 3
| relatives        = [[Rita Simons]] (niece)
}}
'''Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar''' (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author,<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 October 2010 |title=Review: What you see is what you get: My Autobiography by Alan Sugar |url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/review-what-you-see-is-what-you-get-my-autobiograohy-by-alan-sugar-26694122.html |website=[[Irish Independent]]}}</ref> politician, and political adviser.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thejc.com/business/business-features/let%E2%80%99s-do-business |title=Let's do the business |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=14 May 2008 |access-date=26 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thejc.com/comment/columnists/sir-alan-youre-hired-our-rep |title=Sir Alan, you're hired as our rep |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=19 May 2008 |access-date=26 August 2014}}</ref> 

Sugar began what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics company [[Amstrad]], in 1968. In 2007, he sold his remaining interest in the company in a deal to [[BSkyB]] for £125 million.<ref name="BBC2007">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6923517.stm |title=BSkyB agrees £125m Amstrad deal |access-date=28 January 2009|date=31 July 2007|work=BBC News | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081215173901/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6923517.stm| archive-date=15 December 2008| url-status= live}}</ref> He was also the chairman and part-owner of [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur Football Club]] from 1991 to 2001, selling his remaining stake in the club in 2007 as well, for £25 million.<ref name="BBC2007"/> He is the host and "Boss" of the [[BBC Television]] reality competition series ''[[The Apprentice (British TV series)|The Apprentice]]'', which has been broadcast every year, with the exception of 2020 and 2021, since 2005. He also assumed the role for ''[[The Celebrity Apprentice Australia]]'' for Australia's [[Nine Network]] in 2021 and 2022.

Sugar was elevated to the [[House of Lords]] in 2009 as a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] peer and was one of the party's biggest donors, but left the party in 2015 and subsequently expressed support for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]. According to the [[Sunday Times Rich List 2015|''Sunday Times'' Rich List]], Sugar became a billionaire in 2015. In 2021, his fortune was estimated at £1.21bn, ranking him as the 138th-richest person in the UK.<ref name="thesundaytimes1">{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list#TableFullRichList|title=The Sunday Times – The Rich List|website=[[The Times]]|access-date=16 May 2020}}</ref>

==Early life==
Alan Michael Sugar was born on 24 March 1947 in [[London Borough of Hackney|Hackney]], [[East London]], into a [[British Jews|Jewish family]].<ref name="Beckford">{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1941104/Sir-Alan-Sugar-fails-to-make-top-100-Jews-list.html# |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512153925/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1941104/Sir-Alan-Sugar-fails-to-make-top-100-Jews-list.html |archive-date=12 May 2008 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Sir Alan Sugar fails to make top 100 Jews list |last=Beckford|first=Martin|date=9 May 2008|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> His father, Nathan, was a tailor in the garment industry of the [[East End]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091121143900/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6607972/Sir-Alan-Sugar-The-Lords-think-Im-a-brusque-ignorant-cockney.html "The Lords think I'm a brusque, ignorant cockney"], ''The Daily Telegraph''</ref> His maternal grandparents were born in [[Russia]], and his paternal grandfather was born in [[Poland]]. Sugar's paternal grandmother, Sarah Sugar, was born in London to [[Poles in the United Kingdom|Polish parents]].{{cn|date=June 2023}}

When Sugar was young, his family lived in a [[council flat]]. Because of his profuse, curly hair, he was nicknamed "Mop head", a name that he still goes by in the present day.<ref name = TRAS>{{cite AV media |title= The Real Alan Sugar|publisher= [[BBC 2]]|date= 21 January 2009}}</ref> He attended Northwold Primary School and then [[Brooke House Secondary School]] in [[Upper Clapton]], Hackney, and made extra money by working at a greengrocers.<ref name = TRAS/> After leaving school at the age of 16,<ref name="The Board"/> he worked briefly for the civil service as a statistician at the Ministry of Education.{{cn|date=June 2023}}

==Amstrad==
In 1968, aged 21, Sugar set up [[Amstrad]] with £100 of Post Office savings.<ref name="Alan Sugar bio"/> He started off selling radio aerials for cars and other electrical goods out of a van which he had bought for £50 and insured for £8.<ref name="Alan Sugar bio"/>

[[File:Amstrad CPC464.jpg|left|thumb|250px|[[Amstrad]]'s [[CPC 464]] personal computer]]

The name of the company was formed from his initials and the first four letters of the word 'trading': '''A'''lan '''M'''ichael '''S'''ugar '''Trad'''ing. It began as a general importer/exporter and wholesale; by 1970 the first manufacturing venture was underway. He achieved lower production prices by using injection moulding plastics for [[hi-fi]] turntable covers, severely undercutting competitors who used vacuum-forming processes.{{cn|date=March 2024}} In the mid 1970s manufacturing capacity was expanded to include the production of audio amplifiers, stereo cassette recording decks and AM/FM radio tuners.  In most cases beating the competition on price.

In 1980, Amstrad was listed on the [[London Stock Exchange]] and during the 1980s Amstrad doubled its profit and market value every year.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Sean |last=O'Grady|date=10 May 2006|title=The Big Question: 'The Apprentice' is a hit – but how good a businessman is Sir Alan Sugar?|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/the-big-question-the-apprentice-is-a-hit--but-how-good-a-businessman-is-sir-alan-sugar-477500.html|url-status=dead|access-date=21 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111095908/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/the-big-question-the-apprentice-is-a-hit--but-how-good-a-businessman-is-sir-alan-sugar-477500.html|archive-date=11 November 2012}}</ref> By 1984, recognising the opportunity of the [[home computer]] era, Amstrad launched an [[8-bit]] machine, the [[Amstrad CPC 464]]. Although the CPC range were attractive machines, with [[CP/M]]-capability and a good [[BASIC]] interpreter, it had to compete with its arch-rivals, the more graphically complex [[Commodore 64]] and the popular [[Sinclair Research|Sinclair]] [[ZX Spectrum]], not to mention the highly sophisticated [[BBC Micro]]. Despite this, three million units were sold worldwide with a long production life of eight years.<ref name="Amstrad Products Archive" /> It inspired an East German version with [[Z80]] clone processors.<ref name="Meet the Relatives" /> In 1985, Sugar had another major breakthrough with the launch of the [[Amstrad PCW]] 8256 [[word processor]] which retailed at over £300, but was still considerably cheaper than rival machines (such as the Apple Macintosh Plus, which retailed at $2,599). In 1986, Amstrad bought the rights to the Sinclair computer product line and produced two more ZX Spectrum models in a similar style to their CPC machines. It also developed the [[PC1512]], a [[PC compatible]] computer, which became quite popular in Europe<ref name="Amstrad PC 1512" /> and was the first in a line of Amstrad PCs.

In 1988, Stewart Alsop II called Sugar and [[Jack Tramiel]] "the world's two leading business-as-war entrepreneurs".<ref name="alsop19880118">{{Cite journal|last=Alsop|first=Stewart II|date=18 January 1988|title=WUI: The War Over User Interface|url=http://vintagecomputer.net/cisc367/PC-Letter_19880118.pdf|journal=P.C. Letter|volume=4|issue=2|pages=1–4}}</ref> The 1990s proved a difficult time for the company. The launch of a range of business PCs was marred by unreliable hard disks (supplied by [[Seagate Technology|Seagate]]), causing high levels of customer dissatisfaction and damaging Amstrad's reputation in the personal computer market, from which it never recovered.<ref name="autobio" /> Subsequently, Seagate was ordered to pay Amstrad $153 million in damages for lost revenue. This was later reduced by $22 million in an out of court settlement.<ref>{{cite press release|publisher=Seagate Technology Inc.|title=Seagate Settles Dispute With Amstrad|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/seagate-settles-dispute-with-amstrad-77429187.html|access-date=20 October 2016|via=PR Newswire}}</ref> In the early 1990s, Amstrad began to focus on portable computers rather than desktop computers. Also, in 1990, Amstrad entered the gaming market with the [[Amstrad GX4000]], but it was a commercial failure, largely because there was only a poor selection of games available.<ref name="Amstrad GX4000" /> Additionally, it was immediately superseded by the Japanese consoles: [[Sega Genesis|Mega Drive]] and [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]], which both had a much more comprehensive selection of games. In 1993, Amstrad released the [[PenPad]], a [[Personal digital assistant|PDA]], and bought into [[Betacom]] and [[Viglen]] in order to focus more on telecommunications rather than computers. Amstrad released the first of its combined telephony and e-mail devices, called the ''[[E-mailer|e-m@iler]]'', followed by the ''e-m@ilerplus'' in 2002, neither of which sold in great volume.<ref>{{cite web|date=10 June 2007|title=Amstrad dumps e-m@iler phone|url=http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2142725/amstrad-dumps-iler-phone|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070616092941/http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2142725/amstrad-dumps-iler-phone|archive-date=16 June 2007|access-date=10 June 2007|publisher=VNUnet}}</ref>

On 31 July 2007, it was announced that broadcaster [[BSkyB]] had agreed to buy Amstrad for about £125m.<ref name="BBC2007" /> At the time of the takeover, Sugar commented that he wished to play a part in the business, saying: "I turn 60 this year and I have had 40 years of hustling in the business, but now I have to start thinking about my team of loyal staff, many of whom have been with me for many years." On 2 July 2008 it was announced that Sugar was standing down from Amstrad as chairman, to focus on his other business interests.<ref name="Alan Sugar leaves Amstrad" />

==Tottenham Hotspur==
After a take-over battle with [[Robert Maxwell]] for ownership of [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]], Sugar teamed up with the club's manager [[Terry Venables]] and bought it in June 1991. Although his initial investment helped ease the financial troubles the club was suffering at the time, his treatment of Tottenham as a business venture and not a footballing one made him an unpopular figure among the club's fans.<ref name="Sugar leaves sour taste" /> In Sugar's nine years as chairman, Tottenham Hotspur did not finish in the top six in the league and won just one trophy, the [[1999 Football League Cup Final|1999]] [[EFL Cup|League Cup]].

After being sacked as the club's chief executive by Sugar in 1993, Venables appealed to the high courts for reinstatement. A legal battle for the club took place over the summer, which Sugar won (see ''Re Tottenham Hotspur plc'' [1994] 1 BCLC 655). The decision to sack Venables angered many Tottenham fans, and Sugar later said, "I felt as though I'd killed [[Bambi]]."<ref name="Profile: Sir Alan Sugar" />

In 1992, Sugar was the only representative of the then "big five" ([[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], [[Everton F.C.|Everton]], [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]], [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and Tottenham Hotspur) who voted in favour of [[British Sky Broadcasting|Sky]]'s bid for [[Premier League]] television rights. The other four voted in favour of [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s bid, as it had promised to show big five games more often. At the time of the vote, Sugar's company Amstrad was developing satellite dishes for Sky, though Sugar had declared this prior to the vote.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Conn |first1=David |title=How football has kept the Murdoch empire afloat |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/15/football-murdoch-empire-afloat |access-date=19 February 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=15 June 2012}}</ref> During negotiations, Sugar called Sky CEO [[Sam Chisholm]] and angrily ordered him to "blow [ITV] out of the water" with a much higher bid.<ref>{{cite news |last1=MacInnes |first1=Paul |title=Deceit, determination and Murdoch's millions: how Premier League was born |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jul/23/deceit-determination-murdochs-millions-how-premier-league-was-born |access-date=19 February 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=23 June 2017}}</ref>

In 1994, Sugar financed the transfers of three players of the [[1994 FIFA World Cup]]: [[Ilie Dumitrescu]], [[Gheorghe Popescu (footballer, born 1967)|Gica Popescu]], and [[Jürgen Klinsmann]], who in his first season in English football, was named [[FWA Footballer of the Year]]. Because Spurs had not qualified for European competition, Klinsmann decided to invoke an opt-out clause in his contract and left for [[Bayern Munich]] in the summer of 1995. Sugar appeared on television holding the last shirt Klinsmann wore for Spurs and said he would "not wash his car with it". He referred to foreigners coming into the Premier League at high wages as "Carlos Kickaballs". Klinsmann retaliated by calling Sugar "a man without honour", and said:

{{quote|"He only ever talks about money. He never talks about the game. I would say there is a big question mark over whether Sugar's heart is in the club and in football. The big question is what he likes more, the business or the football?"<ref name="Klinsmann and Pleat brought back to rescue Tottenham" />}}

Klinsmann re-signed for Tottenham on loan in December 1997.

In October 1998, former Tottenham striker [[Teddy Sheringham]] released his autobiography, in which he cited Sugar as the reason he left the club in 1997. He said that Sugar had accused him of feigning injury during a long spell on the sidelines during the [[1993–94 in English football|1993–94 season]]. He further stated that Sugar had refused to give him the five-year contract he wanted, as he had not believed Sheringham would still get into the Tottenham team when he was 36. Sheringham returned to Tottenham after his spell at Manchester United and continued to start for the first team until he was released in the summer of 2003, at age 37. Sheringham said that Sugar "lacked ambition" and was hypocritical. As an example, Sugar asked him for recommendations of players; when Sheringham suggested [[England national football team|England]] midfielder [[Paul Ince]], Sugar refused because he did not want to spend £4 million on a player who would soon be 30. After Sheringham left Spurs, Sugar approved the signing of [[Les Ferdinand]], aged 31, for a club record £6 million, on higher wages than Sheringham had wanted.<ref>Teddy Sheringham, ''My Autobiography''</ref>

Sugar appointed seven managers in his time at Spurs. The first was [[Peter Shreeves]], who replaced Venables in 1991, followed by the dual management team of [[Doug Livermore]] and [[Ray Clemence]] in 1992, former Spurs midfielder [[Osvaldo Ardiles]] in 1993, and [[Gerry Francis]] in 1994. In 1997, Sugar surprised the footballing world by appointing the relatively unknown Swiss manager [[Christian Gross]]. Gross lasted nine months as Spurs finished in 14th place in [[1997–98 in English football|1998]], and began [[1998–99 in English football|the next season]] with just three points from their opening three games. Sugar next appointed [[George Graham (footballer, born 1944)|George Graham]], a former player and manager of bitter rivals Arsenal. Although Graham won Spurs' first trophy in eight years, fans never warmed to him, partly because of his Arsenal connection, and disliked the negative, defensive style of football which he had Spurs playing; fans believed it was not the "Tottenham way".<ref name="Graham's losing battle" />

In February 2001, after speculation and confirmation on 11 December 2000, Sugar sold his majority stake at Tottenham to leisure group [[ENIC Group|ENIC]], selling 27% of the club for £22 million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/spurs-await-enics-vision-of-glory-game-629010.html |title=Spurs await Enic's vision of glory game |author =David Conn |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=21 December 2000 |access-date=21 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090202111802/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/spurs-await-enics-vision-of-glory-game-629010.html |archive-date=2 February 2009 }}</ref> In June 2007, he sold his 12% remaining shares to ENIC for £25 million,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2314826/Tottenham-deal-sweet-for-Sugar.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2314826/Tottenham-deal-sweet-for-Sugar.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Tottenham deal sweet for Sugar|author =David Bond|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=8 May 2007|access-date=21 January 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ending his 16-year association with the club. He described his time at Tottenham as "a waste of my life".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article6437237.ece|title=TV's Mr Nasty lands sweet reward as Lord Sugar|newspaper=[[The Times]]|author =Peter Stiff|date=5 May 2009|access-date=21 January 2011}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Sugar later donated £3 million from the proceeds of the sale of his interests in Tottenham Hotspur to the refurbishment of the [[Hackney Empire]] in his native East End of London.<ref name="Alan Sugar Autobio">{{cite book|last=Sugar|first=Alan|title=What You See Is What You Get|year=2010|publisher=Pan|isbn=978-0-330-52047-8|page=299}}</ref>

==''The Apprentice''==
Sugar became the host of the [[BBC]] reality show ''[[The Apprentice (UK TV series)|The Apprentice]]'', which has had one series broadcast each year from 2005, in the same role as [[Donald Trump]] in the [[The Apprentice (US TV Series)|US version]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/a-fierce-will-to-win-pushed-donald-trump-to-the-top/2017/01/17/6b36c2ce-c628-11e6-8bee-54e800ef2a63_story.html|title=A fierce will to win pushed Donald Trump to the top|first=Michael|last=Kranish|date=19 January 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> he fires at least one candidate each week until only one candidate is left. Until 2010, the winner was then employed in his company and since 2011 wins a partnership with Sugar, including his investment of £250,000 to establish their own business.

As a condition for appearing in the third series, Sugar placed a requirement that the show be more business-oriented rather than just entertainment and that he should be portrayed in a less harsh light, to counter his somewhat belligerent reputation.<ref name="Back in Apprentice's firing line" /> He also expressed a desire that the calibre of the candidates should be higher than those who had appeared in the second series (who had come across as manifestly lacklustre) and that the motives of the candidates for participating are scrutinised more carefully, given that certain candidates in previous series had used their successful experience in the show as a springboard to advance their own careers (as occurred with [[Michelle Dewberry]], the winner of the second series, who left Amstrad's employment only eight months after taking up the job). In September 2013, Sugar lost his [[Employment tribunal]] counter-claim against Stella English, the 2010 winner of ''The Apprentice''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lord Sugar loses tribunal counter-claim against Apprentice winner|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/lord-sugar-loses-tribunal-counter-claim-against-apprentice-winner-stella-english-8840977.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226212020/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/lord-sugar-loses-tribunal-counter-claim-against-apprentice-winner-stella-english-8840977.html |archive-date=26 February 2018 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|work=The Independent|date=26 September 2013}}</ref>

Sugar has criticised the US version of ''The Apprentice'' because "they've made the fatal error of trying to change things just for the sake of it and it backfired."<ref name="Sir Alan Sugar Speaks" />

===''The Celebrity Apprentice Australia''===
In September 2020, it was announced that Sugar will be the new CEO on ''[[The Celebrity Apprentice Australia]]'' on Australia's [[Nine Network]], replacing former CEO [[Mark Bouris]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tvtonight.com.au/2020/09/upfronts-2021-nine.html|title=Upfronts 2021: Nine|publisher=TV Tonight|date=16 September 2020|access-date=16 September 2020|first=David|last=Knox}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2020/09/16/nine-upfronts-2021-major-tentpoles-return-nine-revives-beauty-and-the-geek/|title=NINE UPFRONTS: MAJOR TENTPOLES RETURN + NINE REVIVES BEAUTY AND THE GEEK|newspaper=Tv Blackbox|publisher=TV Black Box|date=16 September 2020|access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref>

===''Young Apprentice''===
''[[Young Apprentice]]'' (''Junior Apprentice'' in series 1) was a British reality television programme spin-off in which a group of twelve young people, aged 16 and 17, competed to win a £25,000 prize from Sugar. The six-part series began on BBC One and BBC HD on 12 May 2010, and concluded on 10 June. It featured [[Nick Hewer]] and [[Karren Brady]] as Sugar's advisors. Brady made her debut on ''Junior Apprentice''; it aired before she appeared on the adult version. The programme concluded with Sugar awarding the prize fund to 17-year-old Arjun Rajyagor. Tim Ankers finished in second place.

The second series started in October 2011, and featured eight episodes and twelve contestants. The series was won by Zara Brownless, with James McCullough as runner-up.

Originally proposed in March 2008 and confirmed in June 2009, ''Junior Apprentice'' received mostly positive reviews from critics. Sugar's role under [[Gordon Brown]]'s government sparked a debate over the BBC's political impartiality regulations in the run-up to the UK 2010 election, resulting in both ''Junior Apprentice'' and the sixth regular edition of ''The Apprentice'' being delayed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016kgww/features/about |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022070736/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016kgww/features/about |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 October 2011 |title=website |publisher=BBC |access-date=20 January 2012}}</ref>

===Other television appearances===
In May 2008, Sugar made an appearance on ''An Audience Without Jeremy Beadle'' to pay tribute to [[Jeremy Beadle]] as they were close friends and both appeared on a celebrity special of ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (British game show)|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]'' in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7217383.stm |title=website |work=BBC News |date=30 January 2008 |access-date=3 November 2011}}</ref>

In January 2009, [[Fiona Bruce]] presented a [[BBC Two]] documentary entitled ''The Real Sir Alan''.<ref name="TRAS" /> Also in 2009, Sugar appeared in television advertisements for investment bank [[NS&I]] and The [[Learning and Skills Council]] talking about apprenticeships.

In May 2011, he presented ''Lord Sugar Tackles Football'', a documentary looking into the financial woes of English [[Association football|football]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/may/15/apprentice-lord-sugar-tackles-football-tv-review | title=Rewind TV: The Apprentice; Lord Sugar Tackles Football; A Very Dangerous Doctor – review |work=The Observer |location=UK | date=15 May 2001 | access-date=15 May 2011 | last=Anthony|first= Andrew}}</ref>

In September 2012, Sugar appeared as himself in a cameo in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[The Power of Three (Doctor Who)|The Power of Three]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Lord-Sugar-and-Brian-Cox-Who-Knew|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130114021403/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Lord-Sugar-and-Brian-Cox-Who-Knew|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 January 2013|title=Lord Sugar and Brian Cox: Who Knew?|publisher=BBC|date=22 September 2012|access-date=23 September 2012}}</ref> Sugar's cameo was filmed on the set of ''The Apprentice''.

In November 2012, he appeared as himself in a cameo in a special episode of ''[[EastEnders]]'' for ''[[Children in Need 2012|Children in Need]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Feastenders%2F2012%2F11%2Flord-sugar-and-eastenders-who.shtml|title=Lord Sugar and EastEnders. Who will be the Walford Apprentice?|publisher=BBC|date=14 November 2012|access-date=14 November 2012}}</ref>

== Other ventures ==
===Amsair===
Amsair Executive Aviation was founded in 1993, and is run by Sugar's son Daniel.<ref>{{Cite web|title=AMSAIR AIRCRAFT LIMITED - Officers (Free information from Companies House)|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05845142/officers}}</ref> As with Amstrad, the name Amsair is an acronym taken from the initials of Sugar's name "'''A'''lan '''M'''ichael '''S'''ugar '''Air'''." Amsair operates a large [[Cessna]] fleet, and one [[Embraer ERJ 145|Embraer Legacy 650]] with the registration G-SUGA, offering business and executive jet charters.<ref name="amsair">{{cite web|last=James|first=Jill|date=12 May 2008|title=FT REPORT&nbsp;– GLOBAL TRAVELLER 2008: The Executive's View|url=http://www.amsair.biz/news_ft.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820231214/http://www.amsair.biz/news_ft.html|archive-date=20 August 2012|access-date=30 June 2012|work=Amsair Private Jet News|publisher=Amsair}}</ref>

===Amsprop===
Amsprop is a property investment firm owned by Sugar and is now controlled by his son Daniel.<ref>{{cite web|date=28 September 2006|title=Amstrad boss buys IBM building in £115 million deal|work=London SE1 |url=http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/2353|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070506165325/http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/2353|archive-date=6 May 2007|access-date=8 June 2007|publisher=LondonSE1 |last1=Team |first1=London S. E. 1. Website }}</ref>

[[Simon Ambrose]], winner of the 2007 series of ''The Apprentice'', started working for Amsprop Estates after the series finished. However, in April 2010, he was reported to be leaving to start his own venture.<ref>{{Cite news|date=13 March 2013|title=Apprentice Winner Simon ambrose Leaves Alan Sugar's Firm|journal=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21717377|access-date=27 December 2015}}</ref>

===Viglen Ltd===
Sugar was the owner (and Chairman of the board) of [[Viglen]] Ltd, an IT services provider catering primarily to the education and public sector. He resigned his position on 1 July 2009. Following the sale of Amstrad PLC to BSkyB, Viglen was Sugar's sole IT establishment<ref name="Sugar comments leave bitter taste" /> until its sale to XMA in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|title=You're fired: Lord Sugar offloads faded PC builder Viglen to XMA|website=[[The Register]]|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/09/viglen_merges_with_xma/}}</ref>

===Amscreen===
Sugar is Chairman of Amscreen, a company run by his son Simon, specialising in selling advertising space on [[digital signage]] screens that it provides to retailers, medical centres and leisure venues. ''Apprentice'' winner [[Yasmina Siadatan]] worked there, selling into the [[National Health Service|NHS]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Yasmina Siadatan|url=http://www.linkedin.com/pub/yasmina-siadatan/14/b48/706|access-date=28 July 2011|publisher=LinkedIn}}</ref>

The screens use a [[Face detection#Marketing|Face detection]] system called OptimEyes to try to identify age and sex of its viewers.<ref>{{Cite news|date=11 November 2013|title=Tesco face detection sparks needless surveillance panic, Facebook fails with teens, doubts over Google+ &#124; Media|journal=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/11/tesco-face-detection-sparks-needless-surveillance-panic-facebook-fails-with-teens-do|access-date=26 August 2014}}</ref>

In July 2008, Amscreen purchased Comtech M2M, which was founded in September 1992, originally specialising in communications product retailing. This was before entering the M2M market in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|date=20 August 2008|title=Comtech M2M Goes To Sir Alan Sugar|url=http://www.dailydooh.com/archives/3081|access-date=7 October 2015|publisher=dailydooh.com}}</ref> On 29 August 2008, Comtech M2M officially changed names to Amscreen Limited.

===YouView===
On 7 March 2011, Sugar replaced [[Kip Meek]] on the board of the [[BBC]] initiated [[IPTV]] project known as [[YouView]] (formerly known as [[Project Canvas]]) which is also backed by [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]], [[Channel 4]] and [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]] and broadband providers including [[BT Group|BT]] and [[TalkTalk Group|TalkTalk]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Barnett|first=Emma|date=7 March 2011|title=Lord Alan Sugar brought on board to 'save ailing YouView'|work=The Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8366429/Lord-Alan-Sugar-brought-on-board-to-save-ailing-YouView.html|url-status=live|access-date=7 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309184940/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8366429/Lord-Alan-Sugar-brought-on-board-to-save-ailing-YouView.html|archive-date=9 March 2011}}</ref> Sugar was paid £500,000 for chairing YouView for the year ending March 2012.<ref name="Guard07Jan">{{cite news|first=Mark |last=Sweney|date=7 January 2013|title=Lord Sugar paid £500,000 to chair YouView|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jan/07/lord-sugar-paid-500000-chair-youview}}</ref>

==Political involvement==
From 1997 until 2015, Sugar was a member of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]]. In 2001, he was one of Labour's top 50 donors, giving £200,000 to its head office.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.theguardian.com/politics/funding/table/0,11893,714963,00.html | title=Top 50 donations to Labour in 2001 | work=The Guardian | access-date=28 June 2024}}</ref> In February 2009, the ''[[Evening Standard]]'' journalist [[Andrew Gilligan]] reported that Sugar had been approached to be the Labour candidate for [[Mayor of London]] in 2012.<ref name="Sir Alan Sugar is asked to run for Mayor" /> Sugar subsequently ridiculed the suggestion in an interview with ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref name="Sir Alan will see you now" /> During Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]]'s cabinet reshuffle on 5 June 2009, the BBC reported that he would be given a [[life peerage]] and had been offered a job as the government's "[[Enterprise Champion]]".<ref name="LIVE - Brown fights for his future" /> On 7 June 2009, Sugar sought to clarify the non-political nature of his appointment. He stated that he would not be joining the government, that the appointment was politically neutral, and that all he wanted to do was help businesses and entrepreneurs.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8087648.stm Sugar: I'm not joining government] BBC</ref> On 20 July 2009, he was made '''Baron Sugar''', ''of [[Clapton, London|Clapton]], in the [[London Borough of Hackney]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/L-59137-877847|title = Crown Office &#124; the Gazette}}</ref> He made his [[maiden speech]] in the [[House of Lords]] on 25 November 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2009-11-25/debates/09112525000580/details#contribution-09112525000156|title=Queen's Speech|date=25 November 2009|access-date=3 February 2023}}</ref>

In 2011, Sugar donated a total of £69,000 to Labour or to leader [[Ed Miliband]]'s office, but the following year he defied party rules to implore the public to not vote for its candidate for London Mayor, [[Ken Livingstone]].<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/apr/19/lord-sugar-tweets-ken-livingstone | title=Lord Sugar breaks Labour ranks to tweet 'don't vote for Ken Livingstone' | work=The Guardian |author1=Patrick Wintour |author2=Hélène Mulholland | date=19 April 2012 | access-date=28 June 2024}}</ref>

In August 2014, Sugar was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on that issue]].<ref>{{cite news|date=7 August 2014|title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories|work=The Guardian|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text|access-date=26 August 2014}}</ref>

According to the BBC in 2015, Sugar had donated £163,827 to Labour since Ed Miliband had become leader in 2010,<ref name="disillusioned">{{cite web | url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32692668 | title=Lord Sugar: 'Disillusioned' peer quits Labour Party | work=BBC News | date=11 May 2015 | access-date=11 May 2015}}</ref> but on 11 May 2015, four days after the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] won [[2015 United Kingdom general election|that year's general election]], Sugar announced that he was leaving Labour. He issued a statement to say:

{{quote|In the past year I found myself losing confidence in the party due to their negative business policies and general anti-enterprise concepts they were considering if they were elected. I expressed this to the most senior figures in the party several times. I signed on to [[New Labour]] in 1997 but more recently, particularly in relation to business, I sensed a policy shift moving back towards what Old Labour stood for. By the start of this year I had made my decision to resign from the party whatever the outcome of the general election.<ref name="disillusioned"/>}}

From 11 May 2015 to 8 October 2017, he sat in the House of Lords as a [[non-affiliated peer]]. Since 9 October 2017, he has sat as a [[crossbencher]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Parliamentary career for Lord Sugar |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/3897/career |website=members.parliament.uk |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=22 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

Before the [[2016 London mayoral election]], Sugar said that he is popular politically,<ref>{{cite web|last=Hancock|first=Edith|date=3 May 2016|title=Lord Sugar reckons he'd make a great mayor of London|url=http://www.cityam.com/240201/lord-sugar-reckons-he-would-make-a-better-london-mayor-than-zac-goldsmith-and-sadiq-khan|access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref> and repeatedly urged the public to not vote for the eventual winner, Labour candidate [[Sadiq Khan]].<ref>{{cite web|date=24 April 2016|title=Lord Sugar launches blistering attack on Sadiq Khan|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/lord-sugar-launches-blistering-attack-on-sadiq-khan-for-single-handedly-ruining-labour-a6998211.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425102552/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/lord-sugar-launches-blistering-attack-on-sadiq-khan-for-single-handedly-ruining-labour-a6998211.html |archive-date=25 April 2016 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=PoliticsHome.com|date=24 April 2016|title=Lord Sugar tells Londoners: Don't vote for Sadiq Khan|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/news/74197/lord-sugar-tells-londoners-dont-vote-sadiq-khan|access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="BBC News London Mayor Results">{{cite web|title=London Mayor and Assembly 2016 election results|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2016/london/results|access-date=6 April 2017|website=BBC News}}</ref>

In 2016, Sugar endorsed the "Remain" campaign for the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|referendum on membership of the European Union]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Catherine|last= Neilan|date=22 February 2016|title=EU referendum: Sugar backs Remain camp over Brexit|url=http://www.cityam.com/235109/eu-referendum-lord-sugar-backs-remain-camp-|access-date=26 February 2016|work=cityam.com}}</ref> 

In May 2017, Sugar endorsed the Conservative Party at [[2017 United Kingdom general election|that year's general election]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 June 2017|title=Lord Sugar mocked for begging fans to 'trust him' and vote Conservative|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/lord-sugar-mocked-for-begging-fans-to-vote-conservative-if-they-admire-him-a3560041.html|access-date=31 January 2020|website=Evening Standard}}</ref> During a June 2017 radio interview with LBC's [[Nick Ferrari]], Sugar was asked about the general election result. He said, "It's very, very surprising. I think I'd join a lot of people when I say the [[Theresa May]] and Conservative campaign was very lacking in what they were going to offer the public." He added that Labour leader [[Jeremy Corbyn]] "did a very good job wooing the young and educated people. I would add that those people who voted for him are quite bright and educated, but also not very experienced in life."<ref>{{cite news|title=Lord Sugar: Corbyn voters 'not experienced in life' and 'didn't know what they voted for'|work=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/09/lord-sugar-corbyn-voters-not-experienced-life-didnt-know-voted/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/09/lord-sugar-corbyn-voters-not-experienced-life-didnt-know-voted/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On 31 March 2018, after complaints from Labour politicians, Sugar deleted a tweet showing an edited image of Jeremy Corbyn in a car with [[Adolf Hitler]]. The incident occurred after Corbyn said the party "must do better" in resolving the [[Antisemitism in the UK Labour Party|party's problems with antisemitism]].<ref>{{cite news|date=31 March 2018|title=Alan Sugar deletes Corbyn Hitler tweet after backlash|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43604058|access-date=31 March 2018}}</ref> Shadow Chancellor [[John McDonnell]] had urged him to "delete and disown" the tweet. Sugar responded that he was "not the originator" and that "there is no smoke without fire in Labour".<ref>{{cite news|last=Bennett|first=Isabel|date=31 March 2018|title=Lord Sugar deletes Corbyn-Hitler tweet after McDonnell appeal|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/31/mcdonnell-calls-for-lord-sugar-to-delete-corbyn-hitler-tweet|access-date=31 March 2018}}</ref>

On 5 April 2018, Sugar published an [[ode]] critical of Jeremy Corbyn,<ref>{{Cite news|title=An ode to @jeremycorbyn . Will some of the labour MP's and Lords grow a pair and get him OUT|language=en|work=Twitter|url=https://twitter.com/Lord_Sugar/status/981860245759721472/photo/1|access-date=5 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Lord Sugar intensifies attack on 'stud' Jeremy Corbyn with bizarre poem|language=en-GB|work=Sky News|url=https://news.sky.com/story/lord-sugar-intensifies-attack-on-stud-jeremy-corbyn-with-bizarre-poem-11317806|access-date=5 April 2018}}</ref> and in December that year, he announced during a television interview that he would leave Britain if Corbyn became prime minister.<ref>{{cite news|date=12 December 2018|title=Lord Sugar says he will leave the country if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Prime Minister|work=Yahoo|url=https://news.yahoo.com/lord-sugar-says-will-leave-country-jeremy-corbyn-becomes-prime-minister-104404433.html?guccounter=1|access-date=14 December 2018}}</ref>

Sugar last voted in the House of Lords on 24 October 2017 on an amendment to the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill.<ref>{{cite web |title=Voting record for Lord Sugar |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/3897/voting |website=members.parliament.uk |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=22 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref> He last spoke during a [[take-note debate]] on a [[Proposed referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement|second Brexit referendum]] on 25 October 2018:<ref>{{cite web |title=Spoken contributions of Lord Sugar |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/3897/contributions#expand-4099438 |website=members.parliament.uk |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=22 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref> he called for [[Boris Johnson]] and [[Michael Gove]] to be prosecuted "for the [[Vote Leave bus|£350 million lie on the red bus]]", and stated his support for a "vote on the final negotiated terms" because the "public were misled".<ref name="red bus">{{cite Hansard |jurisdiction= United Kingdom |title= Brexit: People's Vote |url= https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2018-10-25/debates/EE786450-654D-4C77-8C9F-5C1CC3AEF640/details#contribution-4AB4B375-1B80-49F9-A3AE-B089BFAA2D3A |house= House of Lords |date= 25 October 2018 |volume= 793 |column_start= 985 |column_end= 986 |speaker= Lord Sugar |position=}}</ref> He has not retired from the Lords: he returned to swear the [[Oath of Allegiance (United Kingdom)|Oath of Allegiance]] to King Charles in September 2024, thereby retaining his seat.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lester |first1=Nick |title=Lord Sugar sworn in at Westminster where he has not spoken for six years |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/westminster-lord-sugar-king-parliament-apprentice-b1180140.html |access-date=22 March 2025 |work=The Standard |date=4 September 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

Sugar endorsed Boris Johnson during the [[2019 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election|2019 Conservative Party leadership election]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sugar|first=Lord|date=14 June 2019|title=I seriously back @BorisJohnson to be the new PM . The public like him and he will have a good chance of winning the general election in 2021 if not before. Any one who can stop @jeremycorbyn from becoming PM has my backing .|url=https://twitter.com/Lord_Sugar/status/1139479990955851776|access-date=14 June 2019|website=@Lord_Sugar|language=en}}</ref> and endorsed the party in [[2019 United Kingdom general election|that year's general election]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Anglesey|first=Steve|date=25 November 2019|title=Could Brexit Party Michelle Dewberry split the pro-Brexit vote?|url=https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/brexit-party-general-election-candidate-michelle-dewberry-hull-1-6387051|access-date=11 December 2019|website=The New European|language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Sugar has stated that he is an [[atheist]], but remains proud of his Jewish heritage.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Wollaston|first1=Sam|date=25 March 2009|title=Sam Wollaston meets Sir Alan Sugar, star of The Apprentice|journal=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/mar/25/apprentice-television|access-date=10 January 2015}}</ref> He married Ann Simons, a former hairdresser, on 28 April 1968 at [[Great Portland Street]], London. They have two sons, Daniel and Simon, and a daughter, Louise.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hopps|first=Kat|date=22 June 2019|title=Alan Sugar wife: The shocking way he proposed – and the secret to their enduring romance|url=https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1142883/alan-sugar-wife-wedding-proposal-marriage-children-piers-morgan-life-stories|access-date=2 July 2019|website=Express.co.uk|language=en}}</ref> The couple formerly lived mainly in [[Chigwell]], Essex.<ref name="timesonline2006">{{cite news|last1=Naughton|first1=Philippe|last2=Costello|first2=Miles|date=26 March 2006|title=In the line of fire|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article742101.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208113539/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article742101.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 February 2007|access-date=6 July 2008}}</ref><ref name=autobio /> 

On 10 June 2020, Sugar, a pilot since 1975, announced that he was taking delivery of a new 2020 [[Cirrus SR22T]] single-engine aircraft. During an attempted landing in his Cirrus at the grass airfield [[Manchester Barton Aerodrome]] on 5 July 2008, he overshot the runway after touchdown due to poor weather and wet field conditions. No injuries were sustained, although the plane was slightly damaged and consequently grounded.<ref>{{Cite news|date=7 July 2008|title=Alan Sugar 'survives plane crash'|publisher=BBC|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/entertainment/newsid_7492000/7492620.stm|access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref>

He also owns a 13-seat [[Embraer Legacy 650]] jet a [[Florida]] home and multiple boats, including a refurbished one named ''Little Tub'' and a [[superyacht]].

In 2023, Sugar had an estimated fortune of £1.02 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunter |first=Simon Hunt, Michael |date=27 April 2023 |title=Alan Sugar net worth {{!}} Evening Standard Tech Rich List |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/business/alan-sugar-net-worth-evening-standard-tech-rich-list-wealth-b1077334.html |access-date=18 December 2023 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}</ref>

In December 2020, Sugar announced that both his brother and sister had died from [[COVID-19]].<ref name="brother">{{Cite tweet|number=1338668390601420803|user=Lord_Sugar|title=Today I lost my long suffering brother Derek another victim of Covid which added to his underlying health issues. He was a life time passionate Spurs supporter.I never forget my sister in law joking with me thanking me for buying him the club. A sad day for us all in the family|author=Sugar, Alan|date=15 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="death">{{Cite tweet|number=1344111693526224896|user=Lord_Sugar|title=My eldest sister Shirley passed away today at the age of 88 she had been sick for a while but I guess covid got her in the end to join our brother Derek who passed 2 weeks ago . RIP SHIRL|author=Sugar, Alan|date=30 December 2020}}</ref>

In the 2020s, Sugar relocated to Australia permanently as a [[tax exile]] to help mitigate his UK tax liability. The move backfired when his financial advisers failed to take account of 2010 tax reforms that apply to peers of the realm. As a result, Sugar wrote a cheque for £186m payable to [[HMRC]] for tax owed on share dividends that he received from his company [[Amshold]] in 2021, amounting to £390m.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Revealed: Sugar attempted to dodge £186m tax bill |url=https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023-09-09/revealed-lord-alan-sugar-attempted-to-dodge-186m-tax-bill |access-date=18 December 2023 |website=The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (en-GB) |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Philip |date=14 September 2023 |title=Alan Sugar blames accountants for £186m tax bill |url=https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tax/personal-tax/alan-sugar-blames-accountants-for-ps186m-tax-bill |access-date=18 December 2023 |website=AccountingWEB |language=en}}</ref>

In February 2009, it was reported that Sugar had initiated legal proceedings against ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' newspaper following a report that he had been named on a "hit list" of British Jews in response to [[2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict|Israel's ongoing military operation in Gaza]].<ref name="Alan Sugar sues Sun over terror splash"/> The threats are alleged to have been made by [[Glen Jenvey]], the source of the original story in ''The Sun'', who posted to a Muslim website under a false identity.<ref name="Sun front-page story on 'terror target' Sir Alan Sugar under investigation"/> 

In February 2022, 70-year-old Patrick Gomes was jailed for three years and six months for sending antisemitic death threats to Sugar, in response to his comments on antisemitism in the Labour Party.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Atkinson |first1=Emily |last2=Churchman |first2=Laurie |title=Patrick Gomes: Man sentenced after sending Lord Alan Sugar antisemitic letters |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/man-sentenced-alan-sugar-antisemitic-letters-b2009130.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217010218/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/man-sentenced-alan-sugar-antisemitic-letters-b2009130.html |archive-date=17 February 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |access-date=19 February 2022 |work=The Independent |date=17 February 2022}}</ref>

==Honours==
Sugar was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the [[2000 New Year Honours#Knights Bachelor|2000 New Year Honours]] "for services to the Home Computer and Electronics Industry".<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 55710|date= 31 December 1999|page=2|supp= y}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=55950 |date=22 August 2000 |page=9336}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/3hDdWTFzsLy3lVCVtl0rxSg/lord-sugar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070809210452/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/3hDdWTFzsLy3lVCVtl0rxSg/lord-sugar|url-status=dead|title=BBC One – The Apprentice – Lord Sugar|archive-date=9 August 2007|website=BBC|access-date=31 January 2020}}</ref> He holds two honorary Doctorates of Science, awarded in 1988 by [[City University, London|City University]] and in 2005 by [[Brunel University]].<ref name="Honorary Graduate Sir Alan Sugar"/> He is a philanthropist for charities such as [[Jewish Care]] and [[Great Ormond Street Hospital]], and donated £200,000 to the British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] in 2001.<ref name="Electoral Commission Register of Donors"/> Sugar was created a [[life peer]] as '''Baron Sugar''', ''of [[Clapton, London|Clapton]] in the [[London Borough of Hackney]]'' on 20 July 2009.<ref name="Apprentice in the Lords: Baron Sugar of Clapton takes his seat"/><ref>{{London Gazette| issue = 59137 | date = 24 July 2009 |page=12761 }}</ref> On 29 October 2015, Sugar was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 5 in the list of 100 Most Influential British Entrepreneurs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://richtopia.com/inspirational-people/100-influential-british-entrepreneurs|title=British Entrepreneurs Top 100: From Lord Sugar to Victoria Beckham, These Are the Most Influential Entrepreneurs in the UK|work=Richtopia|access-date=15 November 2015|date=29 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609191820/http://richtopia.com/inspirational-people/100-influential-british-entrepreneurs|archive-date=9 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2017 he ranked number 1 in the ''Essex Power 100'' list and was named the most powerful person in Essex.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2017-10-27/lord-sugar-named-most-powerful-person-in-essex-but-who-else-made-the-list/|title=Lord Sugar named most powerful person in Essex, but who else made the list?|work=ITV|date=27 October 2017|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref>

{{Infobox COA wide
|image = Alan_Sugar_Coat_of_Arms.svg
|escutcheon = Per chevron throughout Argent and Azure per saltire abased counterchanged a square billet and two spur rowels upwards in chevron counterchanged.
|crest = Perched on three square billets abutting in fess Argent a cockerell Azure supporting with the dexter claws a sugar cane Vert.
|supporters = On either side an owl guardant Azure beaked and legged Or each statant on one leg on a spool Azure of coiled film-stock unwinding therefrom a length of film Proper reflexed behind the back and held in the beak.<ref>{{cite book|title=Debrett's Peerage |date=2015 |page=1190}}</ref>
|motto = Tute Id Fac}}

==Controversies==
Sugar has been accused of having an "outdated" attitude towards women.<ref name="Not-so-sweet response to Sugar's 'outdated' remarks on women"/> Regarding the [[Sex Discrimination Act 1975|1970s UK law]] which states that it is discriminatory and hence illegal for women to be asked at interview whether they plan to have children,<ref name="opsi section 6">Section 6 of [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1975/PDF/ukpga_19750065_en.pdf the Act] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703151427/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1975/PDF/ukpga_19750065_en.pdf |date=3 July 2009 }} determines general illegality of discrimination against women in obtaining employment.</ref> Sugar is quoted as saying "These laws are counter-productive for women, that's the bottom line. You're not allowed to ask, so it's easy – just don't employ them. It will get harder to get a job as a woman."<ref name="Now, the backlash"/>

On 30 September 2013, Sugar tweeted a picture of Chinese child crying 'because he was told off for leaving production line of [[iPhone 5]]'. The message was investigated by the Merseyside police force's specialist hate crime investigation team, who decided that it should be classed as a "hate incident" although no crime had taken place.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lord Sugar Personal Twitter Account|url=https://twitter.com/Lord_Sugar/status/384760280406048768 |website=Twitter |access-date=6 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lord Sugar investigated by police after complaint about 'racist tweet' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/06/lord-sugar-investigated-police-complaint-tweet |access-date=6 July 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=6 October 2013}}</ref>

==Autobiography==
* ''[[What You See Is What You Get (book)|What You See Is What You Get: My Autobiography]]'' (2011), Sugar's autobiography

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="Alan Sugar bio">{{cite web | title=Alan sugar bio | publisher=Virgin | url=http://www.virginmedia.com/money/moneymakers/alansugar.php | access-date=8 May 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103124124/http://www.virginmedia.com/money/moneymakers/alansugar.php | archive-date=3 November 2007 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

<ref name="Alan Sugar leaves Amstrad">{{cite web | url = https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/02/sugar_leaves_amstrad/ | title = Alan Sugar leaves Amstrad | website = [[The Register]] | access-date =2 July 2008}}</ref>

<ref name="Alan Sugar sues Sun over terror splash">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/feb/24/alan-sugar-sues-sun|title=Alan Sugar sues Sun over terror splash|author =Leigh Holmwood|work=The Guardian |location=UK|date=24 February 2009|access-date=26 March 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090227072315/http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/24/alan-sugar-sues-sun| archive-date= 27 February 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>

<ref name="Amstrad GX4000">{{cite web|url=http://www.consolepassion.co.uk/amstrad-gx4000.htm |title=Amstrad GX4000 |access-date=31 July 2008 |publisher=Console Passion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629203140/http://www.consolepassion.co.uk/amstrad-gx4000.htm |archive-date=29 June 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Amstrad PC 1512">{{cite web |url=http://www.old-computers.com/MUSEUM/computer.asp?c=183 |title=Amstrad PC 1512 |access-date=31 July 2008 |publisher=old-computers.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080712084203/http://www.old-computers.com/MUSEUM/computer.asp?c=183 |archive-date=12 July 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Amstrad Products Archive">{{cite web |title=Amstrad Products Archive |publisher=Amstrad |url=http://www.amstrad.com/products/archive/index.html |access-date=1 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509185726/http://www.amstrad.com/products/archive/index.html |archive-date=9 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Apprentice in the Lords: Baron Sugar of Clapton takes his seat">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6720785.ece|title= Apprentice in the Lords: Baron Sugar of Clapton takes his seat|date=20 July 2009|work=[[The Times]] |location=London |access-date=20 July 2009 | first=Ann | last=Treneman}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

<ref name="Back in Apprentice's firing line">{{cite news | title=Back in Apprentice's firing line |work=BBC News | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6471463.stm | access-date=27 April 2007 |last= Robb|first= Stephen | date=20 March 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070328182612/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6471463.stm| archive-date= 28 March 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>

<ref name="Electoral Commission Register of Donors">{{cite web | title=Electoral Commission Register of Donors | publisher=The Electoral Commission | url= http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/regulatory-issues/regdpoliticalparties.cfm | access-date =14 June 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070602033800/http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/regulatory-issues/regdpoliticalparties.cfm |archive-date = 2 June 2007}}</ref>

<ref name="Graham's losing battle">{{cite news | title=Graham's losing battle |publisher=BBC | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/1225274.stm| access-date=28 June 2008 | date=16 March 2001}}</ref>

<ref name="Honorary Graduate Sir Alan Sugar">{{cite web|title=Honorary Graduate Sir Alan Sugar |publisher=Brunel University |url=http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/hongrads/2005/sugar |access-date=24 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510223254/http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/hongrads/2005/sugar |archive-date=10 May 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Klinsmann and Pleat brought back to rescue Tottenham">{{cite news | title=Klinsmann and Pleat brought back to rescue Tottenham | newspaper=The Independent | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-klinsmann-and-pleat-brought-back-to-rescue-tottenham-1290397.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022025220/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-klinsmann-and-pleat-brought-back-to-rescue-tottenham-1290397.html |archive-date=22 October 2011 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |date=23 December 1997| access-date=23 January 2011 |last= Moore|first= Glenn | location=London}}</ref>

<ref name="LIVE - Brown fights for his future">{{Cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8084571.stm|title=LIVE – Brown fights for his future|author1=Jon Kelly |author2=Justin Parkinson |publisher=BBC |date=5 June 2009|access-date=5 June 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090606113043/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8084571.stm| archive-date= 6 June 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>

<ref name="Meet the Relatives">{{cite web |url=http://www.wacci.org.uk/magazine/139/139_04.html |title=Meet the Relatives |access-date=31 July 2008|last=Thacker |first=Kevin|year=2003|publisher=WACCI| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080704060454/http://www.wacci.org.uk/magazine/139/139_04.html| archive-date= 4 July 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>

<ref name="Not-so-sweet response to Sugar's 'outdated' remarks on women">{{cite news |work=The Scotsman |location=UK|url=http://news.scotsman.com/womenandwork/Notsosweet-response-to-Sugar39s-39outdated39.3781391.jp |title=Not-so-sweet response to Sugar's 'outdated' remarks on women |access-date=26 May 2009 |date = 15 February 2008 |last= McGinty |first=Stephen }}</ref>

<ref name="Now, the backlash">{{cite news|author =Kira Cochrane |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/01/gender.women/print |title=Now, the backlash |work=The Guardian |location=London |date= 1 July 2008|access-date=5 June 2010 }}</ref>

<ref name="Profile: Sir Alan Sugar">{{cite news | title=Profile: Sir Alan Sugar |publisher=BBC | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6923678.stm | access-date=28 June 2008 | date=31 July 2007}}</ref>

<ref name="Sir Alan Sugar Speaks">{{cite web | title=Sir Alan Sugar Speaks | publisher=MSN | url=http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/tv/realitytv/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4533081 | access-date=27 April 2007 | last=Last | first=Colleen | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070401035320/http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/tv/realitytv/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4533081 | archive-date=1 April 2007 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Sir Alan Sugar is asked to run for Mayor">{{Cite news |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23654514-details/Sir+Alan+Sugar+is+asked+to+run+for+Mayor/article.do |title=Sir Alan Sugar is asked to run for Mayor |first=r=Andrew |last=Gilligan |work=The Evening Standard |location=UK |date=27 February 2009 |access-date=26 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302065922/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23654514-details/Sir%2BAlan%2BSugar%2Bis%2Basked%2Bto%2Brun%2Bfor%2BMayor/article.do |archive-date=2 March 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Sir Alan will see you now">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/mar/25/apprentice-television|title=Sir Alan will see you now|author =Sam Wollaston|work=The Guardian |location=UK|date=25 March 2009|access-date=26 March 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090327223225/http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/25/apprentice-television| archive-date= 27 March 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>

<ref name="Sugar comments leave bitter taste">{{cite news |url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4829482.stm | title = Sugar comments leave bitter taste | date = 21 March 2006 | access-date =10 July 2008 |work=BBC News }}</ref>

<ref name="Sugar leaves sour taste">{{cite news | title=Sugar leaves sour taste |publisher=BBC | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/1081909.stm | access-date=28 June 2008 | date=21 December 2000}}</ref>

<ref name="Sun front-page story on 'terror target' Sir Alan Sugar under investigation">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jan/28/sun-story-on-alan-sugar-investigated|title=Sun front-page story on 'terror target' Sir Alan Sugar under investigation|author1=Leigh Holmwood |author2=Stephen Brook |work=The Guardian |location=UK|date=28 January 2009|access-date=26 March 2009}}</ref>

<!--<ref name="The Apprentice - Show faces bullying allegations">{{cite web|url= http://www.myparkmag.co.uk/articles/television/the-apprentice/the-apprentice---show-faces-bullying-allegations.html|title= The Apprentice – Show faces bullying allegations|publisher= My Park Magazine|date= 31 March 2008|access-date=6 June 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080404061922/http://www.myparkmag.co.uk/articles/television/the-apprentice/the-apprentice---show-faces-bullying-allegations.html |archive-date = 4 April 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>-->

<ref name="The Board">{{cite web | title=The Apprentice – The Board |publisher=BBC | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/3hDdWTFzsLy3lVCVtl0rxSg/lord-sugar | access-date=8 May 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070408070634/http://www.bbc.co.uk/apprentice/board.html |archive-date = 8 April 2007}}</ref>

<ref name="autobio">What You See Is What You Get: My Autobiography – Alan Sugar (2010)</ref>

}}

==Further reading==
* David Thomas, "''Alan Sugar – the Amstrad Story''" (1991), paperback {{ISBN|978-0-330-31900-3}}.
* Alan Sugar, "''The Apprentice: How to get hired not fired''"
* Alan Sugar, "''[[What You See Is What You Get (book)|What You See Is What You Get: My Autobiography]]''" (2010), hardback {{ISBN|978-0-230-74933-7}}.

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Sir Alan Sugar}}
{{Wikiquote|The Apprentice (UK)}}
{{UK Peer links
| parliament   = lords/lord-sugar/3897
| hansardcurr  = 5442
| publicwhip   = Sugar
| theywork     = 24692/lord_sugar
| bbc          = 58862.stm
| journalisted = alan-sugar
}}
* {{IMDb name|0837377}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-bus}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Irving Scholar]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.]] chairman|years=1991–2001}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Daniel Levy (businessman)|Daniel Levy]]}}
{{s-prec|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[David Freud, Baron Freud|The Lord Freud]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom|Gentlemen]]'''<br />''Baron Sugar'' '''}}
{{s-fol|after=[[Tony Hall, Baron Hall of Birkenhead|The Lord Hall of Birkenhead]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Amstrad}}
{{Tottenham Hotspur F.C. chairpersons}}
{{Authority control}}

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