Paphitis lives with his wife Debbie (whom he refers to as Mrs. P on Dragons' Den) in Weybridge, Surrey. They have five children – two sons and three daughters, including twins – and four grandchildren.[18] Paphitis is dyslexic.[19]
Known to be a keen fan of cars and of Formula One, his first car, like fellow "dragon" Peter Jones, was an Alfa Romeo Alfasud, and he presently owns a chrome Maybach 62, Mercedes SL63 AMG and a Toyota Land Cruiser. His car collection has a series of personalised number plates, including RYM4N (on the Maybach).[20] When interviewed on the BBC show Top Gear in July 2008 he set a time of 1:48.5 around the Top Gear Test Track in the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment.[21]
Paphitis' brother, Marinos, is director for the South Eastern region of the Learning & Skills Council.