Dragon's Den investor Theo Paphitis was born in Cyprus.
Paphitis is a Cypriot-born British entrepreneur who became known for building and acquiring retail and consumer businesses. He later joined the Dragon's Den panel, where his experience in retail, branding, and business restructuring shaped his approach to evaluating pitches.
His business interests have included Ryman, the stationery retailer, and Boux Avenue, the lingerie retailer. He has also been associated with Robert Dyas, a UK retailer selling household and hardware products. These companies helped make him one of the programme's most recognisable retail-focused Dragons.
Cyprus is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean. Paphitis's birthplace is sometimes confused with Greece because Cyprus has strong Greek cultural and linguistic connections, but the biographical fact is specifically that he was born in Cyprus. He later built his career in the United Kingdom.