In our How I Manage My Money series, we aim to find out how people are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals. This week, in our celebrity edition, entrepreneur and Dragons Den star Theo Paphitis, 66, reveals his money weakness and the most successful business he has invested in.
Do you remember your first big pay cheque and what did you do with it?
In the early 80s, being told my first proper salary at a commercial finance company was the big moment for me. It was £30,000 annually – not an unsubstantial amount at that time, and my first salary where the income was almost as much as my annual expenditure. It paid the bills.
What has been the most successful business you’ve invested in on Dragon’s Den?
There have been many businesses that I have invested in on Dragons’ Den, such as Tiny Box [a wholesale gift box firm] which I still invest in now – and Magic Whiteboard that I ended up also stocking in my 200-odd Ryman stores around the country. Both successful businesses.
