The Apprentice rich list – from fired star now worth £13m to contestants who splash cash on Ibiza trips and Ferraris

The Apprentice rich list – from fired star now worth £13m to contestants who splash cash on Ibiza trips and Ferraris

ARMED with swagger and a dogged determination to get to the top, these Apprentice candidates were always going to be successful.

Since starring on the BBC show, a string of Lord Sugar‘s proteges have gone on to carve out to earn huge fortunes for themselves.

Lord Sugar has hired and fired some of the biggest names in business on The Apprentice
Lord Sugar has hired and fired some of the biggest names in business on The ApprenticeCredit: BBC

Alex Mills

Net worth: £16million

Alex was just 22 when he starred on The Apprentice in 2013
Alex was just 22 when he starred on The Apprentice in 2013Credit: BBC
Alex's new luxury car is worth nearly double Lord Sugar's Apprentice investment
Alex’s new luxury car is worth nearly double Lord Sugar’s Apprentice investment

Apprentice star Alex Mills must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Having been fired by Lord Alan Sugar in 2013 aged just 22, he is now making mega money thanks to his insurance firm, Dynamo Cover – and is top of the Apprentice rich list.

The firm employs 30 people in Barry, South Wales, and is already worth £16million.

The former contestant landed a spot on the Times Young Rich List, and is so successful that he even drives a flashy red Ferrari 488, and recently bought a £390,000 jet-black Rolls Royce Cullinan which he designed himself.

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He lives in a mansion which boasts electric gates emblazoned with a three foot golden ‘M’ which he jokes stands for ‘Mills Manor’.

Susan Ma

Net worth: £4.6million

Susan Ma had a strong work ethic even as a child, helping her parents on their market stall before setting up her own aged just 13
Susan Ma had a strong work ethic even as a child, helping her parents on their market stall before setting up her own aged just 13Credit: Instagram
Susan lives a jet-set lifestyle
Susan lives a jet-set lifestyleCredit: Instagram

Susan Ma owns Tropic Skincare, and starred on the seventh series of The Apprentice way back in 2011.

Despite coming third, she still managed to secure an investment from Lord Sugar.

She still runs the natural, vegan and cruelty-free skincare brand she started on a Greenwich market stall aged just 15.

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Her success has meant she’s been able to experience plenty of luxury holidays, most recently posting about a trip to Richard Branson’s Necker Island and a spa break.

She is also somewhat of a philanthropist, raising £150k for food bank charity The Trussell Trust.

Tom Pellereau

Net worth: £1.1million

Tom has always had a passion for inventing new products
Tom has always had a passion for inventing new productsCredit: PA:Press Association
Tom on a trip to Shanghai
Tom on a trip to ShanghaiCredit: Instagram

Inventor Tom Pellereau also appeared on series seven of The Apprentice in 2011.

He was the first winner of The Apprentice in its current format, in which Lord Sugar awards a £250,000 business investment rather than a job at his firm.

I learnt art of ‘power move’ when Alan Sugar went on ‘ballistic psychotic rant’ on The Apprentice… now I’m a millionaire

His first invention aged 10 was a ‘dismantle-abra’ – a dismantling candle stick for his grandmother.

Now, Tom is the founding CEO of beauty company, STYLIDEAS.

He went on to launch a number of cosmetic products, including a curved nail file and makeup brush sanitiser.

Tom appears to still be chummy with Lord Sugar, sharing snaps of them together on Instagram.

Ricky Martin

Net worth: £2.26million

Ricky also has an honours degree in Biochemistry
Ricky also has an honours degree in BiochemistryCredit: Dan Jones – The Sun
Ricky with Lord Sugar at an awards do
Ricky with Lord Sugar at an awards doCredit: Instagram

Ricky Martin was crowned winner of The Apprentice in June 2012 and has since successfully set up and expanded his own specialist recruitment consultancy using the investment from Lord Sugar. 

Hyper Recruitment Solutions focuses on mid-level to senior appointments for the science and technology industry worldwide and was recently reported to have assets of £2.26m.

This makes him the most successful winner of the show.

Ricky now has two kids with wife Gemma, as well as three cats, a rabbit and a hamster, and his Instagram is littered with sweet family snaps and ‘positivity’ posts to promote his business.

Leah Totton

Net worth: £661k

Leah has a string of successful beauty and skin clinics
Leah has a string of successful beauty and skin clinicsCredit: PA:Press Association
Dr Leah sunning herself in Dubai
Dr Leah sunning herself in DubaiCredit: Instagram
The entrepreneur is now a mum (pictured in the Seychelles)
The entrepreneur is now a mum (pictured in the Seychelles)Credit: Instagram

Leah Totton won the show in 2013 after competing with the likes of Celebrity Big Brother star Luisa Zissman, and founded her own chain of skin clinics the following year.

As well as being business savvy, Leah is also a medical doctor, an award-winning cosmetic doctor and a skincare specialist with a post graduate diploma in dermatology.

Speaking about how Lord Sugar helped her, she said: “People think when the show ends, and you are crowned the Apprentice, you don’t have much to do with Lord Sugar.

“It couldn’t be further from the truth. I spoke to that man every day for a year because I did not have any experience in opening or running a business. I needed a lot of support in that first year.”

Dr Leah – whose Instagram is awash with envy-inducing snaps of her on exotic holidays – is now a mum to four-month-old daughter Lilah, whom she shares with golfer boyfriend Justin Harding.

Mark Wright

Net worth: £442k

Mark gained investment for his digital marketing agency
Mark gained investment for his digital marketing agencyCredit: PA:Press Association
Mark showcases his luxury life on Instagram - pictured with Wayne Linkeker
Mark showcases his luxury life on Instagram – pictured with Wayne Linkeker

Mark Wright won the £250k investment prize from Lord Sugar in the 2014 series, and started his digital marketing agency, Climb Online.

It became the most successful company to have gained investment through the BBC show, bringing in £5million in its second year and employs more than 30 members of staff.

Then, last year Mark sold his online marketing company for £10million after an initial £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar.

He now showcases his luxury lifestyle on Instagram to his 20k followers, partying in Ibiza with Wayne Lineker, and giving out business advice.

Sarah Lynn

Net worth: £264k

Sarah's sweet business has been very popular since launching, with Lord Sugar's investment boosting her success
Sarah’s sweet business has been very popular since launching, with Lord Sugar’s investment boosting her success
Last year Sarah and Lord Sugar parted ways
Last year Sarah and Lord Sugar parted waysCredit: Instagram

Sarah Lynn was on the show in 2017, when Lord Sugar couldn’t decide on a winner, so picked two.

She won alongside James White, and received a £250k investment, enabling her to launch her personalised confectionary company, Sweets In The City.

The business was launched in 2010, under the name Sarah’s Chic Sweets.

Since the show the business has gone from strength to strength, supplying beautifully-packaged gifts to sweet lovers all over the UK and stocked in Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges.

However, last year Sarah and Lord Sugar parted ways, with Sarah gaining full control over the business.

James White

Net worth: £168k

James no longer works with Lord Sugar, but has said his help was 'invaluable'
James no longer works with Lord Sugar, but has said his help was ‘invaluable’
Influencer James has 45,000 followers on Instagram
Influencer James has 45,000 followers on InstagramCredit: Instagram

James White was joint-winner in series 13, alongside Sarah Lynn, and gained a £250k to invest in his company, Right Time Recruitment, which specialises in recruitment within the IT and consultancy industries.

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In 2020 James and Lord Sugar parted ways, with James saying at the time: “I am very grateful for everything Lord Sugar has done for me.

“The knowledge and advice gained from Lord Sugar and his team has been invaluable.”

The Apprentice biggest moments

THE Apprentice has been a fan favourite ever since it burst onto the box in 2005.

Here we take a look at five of the biggest moments over the years on the hit BBC One show.

Tim Campbell – Former London Underground transport manager Tim Campbell won the first series of the reality show in 2005. He is now one of Lord Sugar’s aides on the show.

 Sarah Lynn and James White – For the first and only time in the show’s history, both finalists were crowned winners in 2017.

Amy Anzel – Season 16’s fired candidate Amy Anzel was BANNED from the final celebration show, after a tit-for-tat exchange over Lord Sugar’s mocking tweets.

Michelle Dewberry – Telecoms consultant Michelle Dewberry won the second series of the show in 2006. However, after winning a six-figure job with Lord Sugar she lasted just four months before she sensationally quit.

Selena Waterman-Smith – We’re used to tensions running high in the boardroom, but in 2015 a disagreement between two candidates spilled over – for the first time – into a physical bust-up. Events manager Selina Waterman-Smith was given a verbal warning by show bosses for her role in an off-camera scrap with Charleine Wain.

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Miranda Knox

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