| Personal Details Summary | |
|---|---|
| Name | James Constantinou |
| Age / How old / Birthday / Date of Birth / DOB | Born in April 1967. As of 2024, he is around 57 years old. |
| Wedding & Marriage / Spouse / Engaged / Partner | Married. Check the full bio for relationship details. |
| Children / No. of Kids | 5 |
| Ethnicity / Origin / Heritage / Race | White |
| Nationality | English |
| How did James Constantinou make his money? | As a young man he moved to Surrey and started making money by selling high-end property, before changing businesses in 2008 just before the banking crisis. |
Biography / Profile Background
Introduction : James Constantinou Bio
James Constantinou is an English entrepreneur, media personality and the star of the incredibly popular television show ‘Posh Pawn’ on Channel 4.
Personal Life, Parents and Family Details :
- James was born in April 1967 in Bethnal Green, East London. He lived on a council estate with his family for most of his teenage years.
- His partner is his colleague Claudia Valentin, an expert on luxury high-end designer handbags & who also stars on Posh Pawn alongside him. James has five children – three with Claudia and two from an earlier relationship.
- James came under scrutiny when The Sun revealed his criminal record in September 2014. Constantinou, who was 47 years old at the time, had been convicted in April 2014 for assaulting his ex-partner Rachel, the mother of his two children, back in November 2013. He was sentenced to 60 hours of community service and fined £780 in damages after a trial at Redhill Magistrates Court. Despite his conviction for a violent crime, Constantinou continued filming for the second series of Posh Pawn. This report led to some criticism of Channel 4. Channel 4 confirmed that they were aware of Constantinou’s conviction. However, they clarified that Posh Pawn is an observational documentary series about high-end pawnbroking and does not focus on Constantinou’s personal life.
Education and Early Career :
- James left school at the age of fifteen after expulsion and had no plans of returning to another academy or furthering his education.
- His first job was selling cleaning products door-to-door.
- After this, James vowed never to work for someone again & built a name for himself in the real estate industry when he moved to Surrey and started making money by selling high-end property to clients.
Landing ‘Posh Pawn’ and Net Worth :
- James changed industries in 2008 just before the banking crisis and bought an old pawnbrokers establishment in Weybridge, Surrey. This would be the launch of his new company, “Prestige Pawnbrokers.”
- As years passed, his business boomed, and as his association started gaining more and more attention from both the public as well as the national press, Channel Four took an interest.
- Some researchers from the TV channel contacted James and discussed an idea for a new show that revolved around ‘alternative lending’ methods.
- After the network executives came to the conclusion that they had enough material to create the program, they ‘tested the water’ & produced a one-hour documentary titled “Posh Pawn”, which they filmed and shot over an eight week period, uncovering James’ experiences, adventures and the ‘wheeler dealer’ nature of the pawning industry.
- The one-off documentary was a major hit & dismantled all previous records for its time slot in the channel’s schedule, and soon after, the channel decided to produce a whole series. Posh Pawn has had a successful run ever since its release, and multiple seasons have been telecasted.
Fun Facts, Height and Trivia :
- James has received some extremely interesting and downright bizarre assets from clients amidst the duration of ‘Posh Pawn.’ Some favourable mentions are a lump of moon rock, an original Picasso piece, million-pound helicopters, 25k handbags, a slice of Princess Diana’s wedding cake, and even a live racehorse.
- James’ first showroom was based in Surrey. After the ‘Posh Pawn’ show started gaining traction, he was able to create more in locations such as Deansgate, Manchester and Richmond. Due to popular demand, James opened a fifth store in Essex in December 2018.
- Referring to the series, James stated “We’ve seen amazing expansion; it’s the highest quality of advertising a business can hope for, you just can’t pay for that sort of exposure”.
- In one interview James admitted he owed the inability to follow commands to his success. “It made working for someone else almost impossible,” he quipped.
- He has a five-year plan to launch ‘Prestige Pawnbrokers’ overseas.
- There are three things he cannot live without – His family, his phone, and his ability to work.
- Once James gifted his partner Claudia a private flying lesson on one Valentine’s day.
- In his spare time, James likes to eat out at fine-dining restaurants, attend antique fairs and car shows, as well as take long walks and deliberate about innovative business ventures.
James, I just found your channel, and man…I love the way you take items from customers and wait until the end to let us know how it turns out, I’m in Ohio U.S.A.
Keep up the good work, you have the best pawn show I’ve watched congrats
David.
Just discovered your TV programme and I’m HOOKED. Watched it back to back on YouTube literally day after day. Despite your cool exterior, do you ever feel oh oh, think that was a mistake? For example the mental suit of armour, and the ” bone ( nut ) cracker…..hehehe. ?
I love your show. I love the things that people pawn to you beautiful!