What is Theo Paphitis's Net Worth?
Theo Paphitis is a retail magnate and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $300 million. Theo Paphitis made his fortune running such retail companies as Ryman, La Senza UK, Robert Dyas, and Boux Avenue. He also served as the chairman of the EFL Championship's Millwall Football Club, and as the chancellor of Solent University in Southampton, England. Paphitis is well known to British television viewers for appearing as an investor on the reality business series "Dragons' Den" from 2005 to 2012.
Early Life and Education
Theo Paphitis was born on September 24, 1959 in Limassol, Cyprus. He has an older brother named Marinos and a younger brother named George, as well as two half-brothers. When Paphitis was young, he moved with his family to Manchester, England. There, he went to Peacock Street junior school. At the age of nine, Paphitis moved with his family to London, where he attended Ambler Primary School and Woodberry Down Comprehensive School. Struggling with dyslexia, he turned his focus to entrepreneurial endeavors and began running his school's tuck shop.
Career Beginnings
One of Paphitis's first jobs was as a tea boy and filing clerk at a London insurance broker. Dissatisfied with the pay, he became a sales assistant for Watches of Switzerland when he was 18, finding his passion for retail in the process. When he was 21, Paphitis began selling commercial mortgages for the financial services company Legal & General. A couple years after that, he established a property finance company with his friend Mark Moran.
Ryman
In 1994, Paphitis began his involvement with the stationery retail company Ryman. Many of the company's stores had been using concessions from NAG Telecom, of which Paphitis was the chairman. After Ryman went bankrupt, Paphitis purchased the company in early 1995. He managed to successfully turn its fortunes around by improving relations with suppliers and fostering an enthusiastic and cohesive management team. Under Paphitis, Ryman introduced a mail order catalog and a website in the late 90s. The company went on to acquire stores from the retailers Partners and Stationery Box, combining them under the Ryman brand.
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La Senza
Paphitis continued building his retail fortune with the purchase of the United Kingdom and Ireland franchises of La Senza, a retailer of women's intimate apparel. He expanded it considerably by adding sub-franchises throughout the European Union. In the summer of 2006, Paphitis sold his equity stake in the company for a reported £100 million.
Other Companies
In 2011, Paphitis established his own lingerie company, Boux Avenue. The chain has stores in shopping centers across the United Kingdom, including in Kent, Manchester, Cardiff, and Glasgow. In 2012, Paphitis purchased the British hardwire retailer Robert Dyas, which operates over 90 standalone shops selling kitchenware, appliances, laundry products, and outdoor items, among other products. Later, in 2016, he bought London Graphic Centre, a retailer of specialist arts and stationery.
Football
Beyond his retail endeavors, Paphitis had a successful career as the chairman of the EFL Championship's Millwall Football Club, which he joined in 1997. His greatest single year of leadership was in 2004 when Millwall made it to the FA Cup Final for the first time, although the team ultimately fell to Manchester United. As chairman, Paphitis was also notable for his efforts to cut down on football hooliganism. After eight years leading Millwall, he stepped down as chairman in 2005. Elsewhere in the football world, Paphitis is a director and part-owner of the Isthmian League side Walton & Hersham Football Club.
(Photo by Chris Radburn/WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Television Career
On telly, Paphitis has appeared in a number of reality, news, and documentary programs. In 2000, he appeared on the BBC reality show "Back to the Floor." His longest-running and most famous gig started five years later when he joined the reality business series "Dragons' Den," based on the Japanese series "Money Tigers." The show features entrepreneurs who pitch their business ideas to a panel of wealthy venture capitalists with the hopes of receiving financial investment. Paphitis served on the panel of "Dragons' Den" for nine seasons from 2005 to 2012, and briefly returned as a replacement panelist in 2019 and 2021.
While still on "Dragons' Den" in 2010, Paphitis had a three-part series entitled "Theo's Adventure Capitalists," which followed British businesses as they sought to enter new markets in countries such as Vietnam, Brazil, and India. The year after that, Paphitis hosted the seven-part series "Britain's Next Big Thing," which went behind the scenes of some of the UK's biggest retail brands. He later made appearances on the debate program "Question Time," the current affairs program "The Agenda," and the two-part documentary series "Famous, Rich and Hungry," which raised money for Sport Relief.
Personal Life
In 1978, Paphitis married Debbie Stocker. The couple has two sons and three daughters and lives in Weybridge, Surrey.
An avid gear head, Paphitis owns a collection of cars that have various personalized license plates, including ones that read "RYM4N" and "Maybach."
