One of porns elite passes, though few Americans even in porn have heard of him his net worth was well above that of any American porner, including Larry Flynt
LONDON (AFP) – Paul Raymond, the porn baron and multi-millionaire property developer credited with staging the first live striptease show in London, has died, his company said Monday. He was 82.
Raymond, who amassed an estimated 650-million-pound fortune, was once dubbed the “King of Soho” for his businesses, including Raymond’s Revue Bar, in the London nightlife district.
His stable of top-shelf magazines, overseen by his company the Paul Raymond Organisation, included Razzle, Men’s World and Mayfair.
Born Geoffrey Anthony Quinn, the son of a haulage contractor, Raymond left school at 15 vowing to make his name in showbusiness. He started out with a mind-reading act on Clacton Pier, before becoming producer for a touring vaudeville show.
For many commentators he brought erotica into the mainstream, hosting a ground-breaking first live striptease in 1958, before going on to make a vast fortune by buying and developing property in Soho and west London.
He was also described as a British version of Playboy founder Hugh Heffner in the United States.
