{{Infobox Person
|name = James Palumbo
|image = jamespalumbocropped.jpg
|birth_date = {{birth date |1963|6|6|}}
|nationality = [[British people|British]]
|education = 1969 – 1976 Scaitcliffe School, Surrey
1976 – 1980 [[Eton College]]
1981 – 1984 [[Worcester College, Oxford]]
|occupation = Founded [[Ministry of Sound]] in 1991
1984 – 1986 [[Merrill Lynch]], London
1986 – 1990 [[Morgan Grenfell]], London

1990 – 1991 Hambro Magan, London
|residence = UK
}}

'''James 'Jamie' Palumbo''', born in 1963, is the eldest son of Peter Garth Palumbo ([[Lord Palumbo]]) and his first wife Denia Maud Elizabeth Palumbo (née Wigram). As the grandson of Italian [[immigrant]] and successful [[property developer]] Rudolf Palumbo, James had a privileged childhood and grew up at Buckhurst Park, [[Windsor, Berkshire]], now the UK home of the King of Jordan.

Palumbo is best known as being the [[Entrepreneur|founder]] of the [[nightclub]] and [[brand]], [[Ministry of Sound]]. Since its conception in 1991, the company has grown from a nightclub in [[London]]’s [[Elephant and Castle]] to a global [[multi-media]] business. Ministry of Sound is also the largest [[independent record company]] in the world.
Less known are Palumbo’s interests in property, in which he has been active since his late teens.

==School==

Between the age of six and twelve, Palumbo attended Scaitcliffe School in [[Surrey]]. On entering [[Eton College]] in 1976, Palumbo refused to conform to convention which made him unpopular. Responsible for the expulsion of a number of students for drugs, Palumbo was also involved in the abolition of the time-honoured [[tradition]] of [[fagging]]; the practice of younger students acting as servants to their older counterparts. At 16 he was named the youngest ever [[house system|Captain of House]] under controversial circumstances which resulted in the early retirement of the house master.

==Professional career==

After leaving Eton in 1980, Palumbo spent a [[gap year]] in [[California]] where he established his first business with his school friend Humphrey Waterhouse - The Etonian Butler Service - providing domestic services to [[Hollywood]] celebrities. The business expanded and they were joined throughout the year by a group of school friends. This attracted the attention of the Immigration Services for working in the [[USA]] illegally and Palumbo engaged lawyer [[Randolph Fields]] to defend the group. A film treatment based on their experiences was sold to [[Tri-Star]] and then [[Paramount Pictures]]; in later years Palumbo was to work with Fields on the creation of [[British Atlantic Airways]] which became [[Virgin Atlantic]].

Between 1981 and 1984 Palumbo studied History at [[Worcester College]], [[Oxford]], whilst working on a number of business interests. After graduating he spent two years at [[Merrill Lynch]] and four years at [[Morgan Grenfell]]. His principal client at the time was [[Kwek Leng Beng]], Chairman of the Singapore based [[Hong Leong]] Group. Palumbo subsequently became director of Kwek’s European hotels business. In 1990 Palumbo was invited to become Managing Director of Morgan Grenfell Laurie; he chose instead to follow his mentor, George Magan, to work at Hambro Magan.

Just over a year later Palumbo went on to found [[Ministry of Sound]] with his school friend Humphrey Waterhouse and DJ [[Justin Berkmann]]. The club was an immediate success but Palumbo lost control of it to drug dealers. A vicious fight to regain control followed. Later, Ministry of Sound was cited for ‘best practise’ in the Parliamentary debate on the Drugs Misuse Act 1994.

Ministry of Sound is modelled on the [[New York City]] club [[Paradise Garage]]. In 2001 Palumbo sold 16% of the business to [[3i]] for £24million. He remains the majority shareholder.

In addition to its portfolio of clubs, Ministry of Sound is the largest [[independent record company]] in the world, has a radio station, [[IPTV]], hosts live events and produces a range of clothing and [[merchandise]]. In more recent years, Ministry of Sound has expanded and diversified it's business by purchasing some big music brands including [[Hed Kandi]], [[Global Underground]] and [[Euphoria]] and has moved into audio/visual equipment production and beauty products.

==Politics==

Palumbo’s support of political figures such as [[Peter Mandelson]] ([[UK Secretary of State]] for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform), [[Simon Hughes]] ([[Liberal Democrats|Liberal Democrat]] Deputy Leader) and [[Tom Sackville]] ([[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Home Office Minister) has confused the media as to his party loyalty and whether or not he intends to enter politics himself.

==Writing==

Palumbo’s first novel, ''Tomas'', was published in the summer of 2009 and reached number 54 in the Amazon top 100, there were several celebrity endorsements of this novel including the following:

“Absolutely amazing...it’s the most energetic, surreal and extraordinary novel I have read for a very long time.”
Stephen Fry

"In Tomas, Rabelais meets Tom Wolfe. Palumbo's surrealist satire of the Age of Eurotrash is as grotesque as it is gripping."
Niall Ferguson

“Either mad, genius or both!”
Rory Bremner

"A debut novel that explodes at full blast. Palumbo delivers a savage satire of the highest calibre"
Monocle Magazine

==Personal life==

Palumbo has never married; he has one son, Alessandro, who was born in 1991 to Atoosa Hariri. He lives in London with his best friend Miss Rawipim Paijit, from Thailand. He also has a passion for classical music.

==External links==
*[http://www.tomas-book.com/ Tomas Book]
*[http://www.ministryofsound.com/ Ministry of Sound]
*[http://www.mshkgroup.com/ MSHK Group]
*[http://www.quartetbooks.co.uk Quartet]
*[http://www.pfd.co.uk/ Peters, Fraser and Dunlop]

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Palumbo, James
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1963-06-06
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palumbo, James}}
[[Category:Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford]]
[[Category:English people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Ministry of Sound]]