When it comes to billionaires, Alan Sugar notches himself on the list just above the “barely there” range. At only $1.25-billion (830-million GBP), Sugar isn't exactly challenging Bill Gates' Microsoft Empire or Donald Trump's hotels and casinos. He is rivaling the Donald in popularity, however.

Fans of the UK's knockoff to America's “The Apprentice” know Alan Sugar for being the hard-nosed, take no prisoners boss-man who's quick to let his next victim know where to find the door. Sugar's main claim to wealth is his extensive property portfolio rather than his business ventures. Sugar has been married to his wife, Ann, since 1968 and they have three children.

Sir Alan Michael Sugar was born March 24, 1947 in Hackney, East London, England. As the youngest of four children born to Fay and Nathan Sugar, Alan's life was the quintessential for that of the baby of the family. Teased by his older siblings and nicknamed “Mopsy” due to his curly hair, and catered to by his parents, Sugar began to develop a mean streak as he pulled away from childhood into adulthood.

The son of a tailor, Sugar had no aspirations of being a billionaire when he grew up. He did plan to be a businessman, however, and by the time he was a teenager, he was making extra money boiling and selling beetroot from his own stall.

Sugar attended the Brooke House School in Upper Clapton, Hackney, but left the school at 16. He worked for the Civil Service briefly as a statistician at the Ministry of Education before branching out and going into business for himself, selling lighters and electrical goods out of the back of a van. Alan did well for himself over the years and opened Amstrad in 1968.

The company's first venture was underway by 1970, and in only a decade, the company had grew and was listed on the London Stock Exchange, where its profit and market valued doubled every year of the 80s.

Amstrad launched a model of home computer in 1984, but having to compete with sophisticated rivals, the computers never quite took off on a worldwide scale. However, with groundbreaking word processors and popularity in Europe, Amstrad has a peak market value of $1.2-billion. Sugar and Amstrad even attempted delving into the world of video game consoles in 1990, but the success of Sega and Nintendo kept Amstrad from competing.

In 1991, Alan partnered up with Terry Venables and purchased the Tottenham Hotspur football club. This venture was not a successful one, however, and during his 9 years as chairman of the club, the Hotspurs failed to finish in the top 6 in the league and won only one trophy. Other ventures from Sugar include Amsair Executive Aviation, Amsprop investment firm, Viglen Ltd, and Amscreen, a company that sells advertising space. Sugar sold his majority state in Tottenham in 2001, and in 2008, Alan Sugar stepped down as chairman of Amstrad in order to focus on his other business interests.