UK- MULTIMILLIONAIRE porn baron Paul Raymond, once dubbed the ’King of Soho’, has died aged 82.

A friend said the impresario, who was said to be worth £650m in 2004, had passed away on Sunday morning.

Restaurateur Mark Fuller, a family friend and joint owner of Embassy Restaurant and Members Club, confirmed the death and paid tribute to Raymond.

He said: “He was a great mentor for me. He was always there to help me. He has been a close family friend for a very long time and he will be sadly missed.

“He was an icon of Britain and he is proof that you can come from nothing and do something with your life.

“I’d rather not comment on how he died, but he was getting on a bit and had spent time in hospital.

“He was someone who I really looked up to and I’m very distraught at the moment.”

Raymond made his name in 1958 when he opened the Raymond Revuebar strip club in Soho, which at the time was the only one in Britain to stage live striptease shows.

His porn magazines included Razzle, Men Only and Mayfair.

Later in life he became a successful property magnate.

The son of a Liverpool haulage contractor, he accrued his wealth by snapping up property in Soho and west London as prices dropped in the 1970s.

Born Geoffrey Anthony Quinn, he was raised in Glossop, Derbyshire, and left school at 15, determined to break into showbusiness.

His first break was in the form of a mind-reading act on Clacton Pier, when he changed his name.

He then became a producer, touring a variety programme, the Vaudeville Express, around the country.