Richard Branson
Richard Branson, born on the 18th of July 1950 in Blackheath, London, left school at sixteen with a prediction ringing in his ears. On his last day, his headmaster, Robert Drayson, told him he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire. Branson has dyslexia, did poorly in class, and has spoken openly about having ADHD.
The prediction turned out to be a fair summary of a very uneven career. By 2016 he controlled five companies. In June 2023, Forbes magazine put his estimated net worth at US$3 billion.
How does a struggling student build a brand that ends up on records, flights, trains and spacecraft? Which of his bets paid off, and which collapsed in public? And what do his critics say about the way he made and kept his money? The answers start in a London church basement.
Evette Branson, a ballet dancer and air hostess, was an entrepreneur in her own right. One of her most successful ventures was building and selling wooden tissue boxes and wastepaper bins. Her son's parents backed his schemes from an early age, and those schemes did not begin well. Branson tried growing and selling Christmas trees, then budgerigars, and failed at both.
In 1966 he launched a magazine called Student with Nik Powell. The first issue appeared in January 1968, and a year later his net worth was estimated at £50,000. From 1967 to 1968 he was also squatting in London.
The magazine's office sat in the crypt of St John's Church, off Bayswater Road. Student never became quite the success he hoped for. Yet it fed his next business. He used its pages to advertise popular albums, which boosted sales for a mail-order record firm run from the same church. The magazine also landed interviews with Mick Jagger and R. D. Laing.
Nik Powell wanted to turn Student into a co-operative. Branson took full control of the magazine by successfully lying to Powell that the staff opposed the idea.
WHSmith, the High Street chain, was the main rival the mail-order business undercut on price. At the time, many products were sold under restrictive marketing agreements that limited discounting. Branson later said, "There is no point in starting your own business unless you do it out of a sense of frustration."
A record shop on Oxford Street followed. In 1971 Branson was questioned about records that had been declared as export stock. The matter never reached a court, because he agreed to repay unpaid purchase tax of 33% and pay a £70,000 fine. His parents re-mortgaged the family home to help cover the settlement.
Another account of 1971 describes a Customs sting. Officials marked records bought for the international market with invisible ink, then bought the same records on the domestic market. An anonymous tip-off warned Branson, and he tried to dispose of the evidence without success. He was briefly jailed for one night.
Within a year, money from that shop would launch a record label.
In 1972, Branson and Nik Powell used money from the record store to launch Virgin Records. One of Branson's early employees suggested the name, because everyone in the company was new to business. Branson bought a country estate north of Oxford and installed a residential recording studio called The Manor Studio. He leased studio time to fledgling artists.
Mike Oldfield, a multi-instrumentalist, was one of them. His debut album, Tubular Bells, appeared in 1973 as the first Virgin release. It became a chart-topping best-seller.
The Sex Pistols were among the controversial bands that Virgin signed when other companies hesitated. The roster later grew to include the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, XTC, Japan, UB40, Steve Winwood and Paula Abdul. Virgin also introduced Culture Club to the music world. It earned praise for exposing listeners to the avant-garde German bands Faust and Can, and it became the world's largest independent record label.
By 1979 Branson's net worth was estimated at £5 million. A year later, Virgin Records went international.
A farm in Norfolk, owned by his aunt Claire Hoares, supplied the raw material for his only attempt at producing. The novelty record "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" by The Singing Sheep was built from recorded animal noises set to a drum-machine track. Doug McLean and Grace McDonald worked on it with him. Branson was credited as "Jeff Mutton", and in 1982 the single reached number 42 in the UK charts.
In 1983 the compilation series Now That's What I Call Music! emerged from Virgin Records offices. Peter Jamieson arranged the partnership with EMI on Branson's boat. The title was inspired by a Danish Bacon poster that had been given to Simon Draper.
The label's story ended painfully in 1992. To keep his airline afloat, Branson sold Virgin Records to EMI for £500 million. He said he wept when the sale was completed, because the record business had been the very start of the Virgin empire. In 1996 he created V2 Records to re-enter the music business, owning 5% himself.
That sale had been made to protect an airline, and the airline came with its own fight.
Stranded in Puerto Rico after a cancelled flight, Branson decided to charter his own plane for the rest of the trip. He offered seats to the other stranded passengers for a small fee that covered the cost. That improvisation was his first successful step into the airline industry.
In 1984 he formed Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Cargo, and in 1985 he formed Virgin Holidays. Writing in his autobiography about the decision to start an airline, he said: "My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them... from the perspective of wanting to live life to the full, I felt that I had to attempt it."
British Airways viewed Virgin as an emerging competitor, and disputes began in the early 1990s. Virgin accused the larger airline of poaching its passengers, hacking its computers and leaking negative stories to the press. After this so-called campaign of "dirty tricks", British Airways settled. It paid £500,000 to Branson and £110,000 to his airline, along with legal fees of up to £3 million. Branson shared his own compensation among his staff, in what became known as the "BA bonus".
The tables turned in June 2006, when a tip-off from Virgin Atlantic led British and American competition authorities to investigate price-fixing attempts between the two airlines. In August 2007, British Airways was fined £271 million. Virgin Atlantic was given immunity for tipping off the authorities and paid no fine. The Office of Fair Trading defended that controversial decision as being in the public interest.
The Virgin name spread to other carriers. Virgin acquired the European short-haul airline Euro Belgian Airlines and renamed it Virgin Express. Virgin Blue launched in Australia in 2000. In 2006 a merger with SN Brussels Airlines formed Brussels Airlines, and Virgin Nigeria began flying, though it ceased operations in 2009. Virgin America started flying out of San Francisco International Airport in August 2007. That same month Branson announced a 20 per cent stake in the Malaysian airline AirAsia X.
In October 2019, Branson inaugurated a route between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv. He called Israel a land of "great entrepreneurs doing incredible things" and was photographed kissing the ground on arrival.
Then came 2020. The pandemic cut international air travel by around 60 per cent worldwide. In March, Branson and Virgin were criticised for asking staff to take eight weeks' unpaid leave. He put his luxury Necker Island up as collateral for a commercial loan to save Virgin Atlantic from going bust. He said: "Over the five decades I have been in business, this is the most challenging time we have ever faced."
On the 5th of May 2020 the airline announced it would lay off 3000 staff and shrink its fleet to 35 aircraft by the summer of 2022. It would retire its Boeing 747-400s and would not resume operations from Gatwick Airport.
Virgin Rail Group began operating in January and March 1997, winning the InterCity CrossCountry and InterCity West Coast franchises during the privatisation of British Rail. Many observers saw it as one of Branson's riskier moves. Both franchises were scheduled to run for 15 years.
August 2012 brought a shock. The re-tendered West Coast franchise was awarded to FirstGroup, and Branson questioned the business plan FirstGroup had submitted. He said he was convinced civil servants had "got their maths wrong". In October, an investigation led to the deal being scrapped. Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced "significant technical flaws" in the process and mistakes by transport staff. Virgin kept running the West Coast line until the 7th of December 2019, when Avanti West Coast replaced it.
In March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast took over the InterCity East Coast franchise. It was a joint venture, with Stagecoach holding 90% and Virgin Group 10%. The line performed below expectations, and in May 2018 the government announced that the contract would end early. The company ceased operating on the 23rd of June 2018, and a government-owned operator, London North Eastern Railway, took over. Plans announced in 2025 aim to compete with Eurostar on the lines linking London with Paris and Brussels by 2029.
Virgin Mobile launched in 1999. On the 4th of July 2006, Branson sold it to NTL:Telewest for £900 million, and Virgin Media launched on the 8th of February 2007. He had owned three-quarters of Virgin Mobile. He owns no part of Virgin Media, but he receives £8.5 million per annum for the use of the Virgin brand name.
The Virgin Health Bank opened on the 1st of February 2007, offering expecting parents a way to store their babies' umbilical cord blood stem cells. On the 9th of January 2008, Virgin Healthcare announced a chain of clinics that would pair conventional medical care with homeopathic and complementary therapies. Health minister Ben Bradshaw welcomed the idea.
Trouble followed within months. Plans to pay GPs for referring NHS patients to private Virgin services were abandoned in June 2008, after the BMA warned they would "damage clinical objectivity". A plan to take over an NHS practice in Swindon was dropped in late September. Virgin Care nonetheless began a five-year contract in April 2012 for services previously overseen by NHS Surrey. By March 2015 it was in charge of more than 230 services nationwide.
Virgin Cola, Virgin Cars, Virgin Publishing, Virgin Clothing and Virgin Brides all failed. Branson has written: "There's nothing wrong with making mistakes as long as you don't make the same ones over and over again."
On the 13th of October 2007, the Virgin Group made an offer for Northern Rock. Branson would have personally owned 30 per cent, and the bank would have become Virgin Money. The Daily Mail ran a campaign against the bid. Vince Cable suggested in the House of Commons that Branson's criminal conviction for tax evasion might be reason enough not to trust him with public money.
The Virgin Money name survived anyway. When Virgin Money UK was sold to the Nationwide Building Society in October 2024, Branson made £724 million. That total was £414 million from his 14.5 per cent shareholding and £310 million for Nationwide's use of the brand for up to six years.
On the 25th of September 2004, Branson announced that a new space-tourism company, Virgin Galactic, would license the technology behind SpaceShipOne. That craft was funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and designed by the engineer Burt Rutan. Virgin Galactic is based at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. It planned to sell public flights at US$200,000 a ticket, using the Scaled Composites White Knight Two as a carrier.
The spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, which Branson and Rutan founded and which Virgin Galactic now owns outright. In 2013, Branson said he planned to take his two children, 31-year-old Holly and 28-year-old Sam, on the first public flight, then planned for 2014. His personal business jet, a Dassault Falcon 900EX called "Galactic Girl", wears a variation of the Virgin Galactic livery.
Branson is a Star Trek fan, and he named the spaceplane VSS Enterprise after the franchise's starships. In 2006 he reportedly offered the actor William Shatner a ride on the first Virgin Galactic launch. In a Time interview published on the 10th of August 2009, Shatner said Branson had asked how much he would pay for the trip. Shatner answered, "how much would you pay me to do it?"
In July 2012, Branson announced plans to build an orbital launch system, designated LauncherOne.
On the 11th of July 2021, Branson flew on a Virgin Galactic craft called VSS Unity, alongside Beth Moses, Sirisha Bandla and Colin Bennett. They rose to 86 kilometres, or 53 miles, above Earth, a peak altitude of 53.5 miles. The mission lasted about an hour. Branson became the first billionaire founder of a space company to reach the edge of space. At 70, he was the third-oldest person to fly to space.
In September 2023, Branson declared he would put no more money into Virgin Galactic, which was losing money. He said his business empire no longer had extensive financial resources.
The Blue Riband tradition inspired Branson in 1985 to try for the fastest Atlantic crossing by ship. His first attempt, in the Virgin Atlantic Challenger, ended with the boat capsizing in British waters and a Royal Navy helicopter rescuing the crew. The rescue received wide media coverage, and some newspapers called for Branson to reimburse the government for its cost.
In 1986, aboard Virgin Atlantic Challenger II with a sailing expert named Daniel McCarthy, he beat the record by two hours. A year later his hot air balloon, Virgin Atlantic Flyer, crossed the Atlantic.
In January 1991, Branson crossed the Pacific from Japan to Arctic Canada, a distance of 6700 miles, in a balloon of 2,600,000 cubic feet. He broke the record at a speed of 145 miles per hour.
Between 1995 and 1998, Branson, Per Lindstrand, Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Larry Newman and Steve Fossett attempted to circle the globe by balloon. In late 1998 they made a record-breaking flight from Morocco to Hawaii. They could not finish a global flight before Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones did so in Breitling Orbiter 3 in March 1999.
In March 2004, Branson drove a Gibbs Aquada from Dover to Calais in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 6 seconds. That set the record for the fastest English Channel crossing in an amphibious vehicle. Two Frenchmen had held the previous record of six hours.
In 2007, the Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond built an amphibious vehicle of their own to challenge it. They crossed the Channel but did not beat his time. Intercepted by the Coast Guard and asked their intentions, Clarkson replied: "...our intentions are to go across the Channel faster than 'Beardy' Branson!" The Coast Guard wished them good luck and bon voyage.
September 2008 brought a failure at sea. Branson and his children attempted an eastbound record crossing of the Atlantic under sail in the 99-foot sloop Virgin Money. The boat belongs to Alex Jackson, a New York Yacht Club member who co-skippered with Branson and Mike Sanderson. After two days and four hours, in force 7 to 9 winds and 40-foot seas, a "monster wave" destroyed the spinnaker, washed a ten-man life raft overboard and badly ripped the mainsail. The sloop continued to St. George's, Bermuda.
Branson is also an experienced kitesurfer who has set two world records. He became the oldest person to kitesurf across the English Channel. In 2014 he took the Guinness World Record for most people riding a surfboard by kiting with three women attached to him, among them the professional kiteboarder Susi Mai and the entrepreneur Alison Di Spaltro. In August 2016, a bicycle crash in the British Virgin Islands left him with torn ligaments and a cracked cheek.
All this adventure made him easy to recognise on screen. In the 1990s the comedy act Trev and Simon called him "the pickle man" on the BBC Saturday morning programme Live & Kicking, a nod to Branston Pickle. He guest starred, usually as himself, on shows including Friends, Baywatch, Birds of a Feather and Only Fools and Horses. In 2004, Fox aired The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best, in which sixteen contestants were tested for entrepreneurship and a sense of adventure. It lasted one season.
Satirists have found him easy to caricature. The 2000 AD series Zenith features a parody of Branson as a supervillain, at a time when the comic's publisher and distributor competed with Virgin. The Simpsons turned him into the tycoon Arthur Fortune in the episode "Monty Can't Buy Me Love". Terry Pratchett's Wings includes a character, Grandson Richard 39, modelled on him.
His film cameos include Around the World in 80 Days in 2004, where he played a hot-air balloon operator. In Superman Returns in 2006, he was credited as a "Shuttle Engineer" and appeared with his son Sam. In the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, he is frisked at Miami Airport security, and several Virgin Atlantic planes appear soon after. British Airways cut his cameo from its in-flight screening.
In the late 1990s, Branson and the musician Peter Gabriel discussed an idea with Nelson Mandela. They imagined a small group of leaders working to solve difficult global conflicts. On the 18th of July 2007 in Johannesburg, Mandela announced the formation of The Elders. Kofi Annan served as chair and Gro Harlem Brundtland as deputy chair. Donors including Branson and Gabriel fund the group.
Branson's work in South Africa also includes the Branson School of Entrepreneurship, set up in 2005. It is a partnership between Virgin Unite, Virgin's non-profit foundation, and the entrepreneur Taddy Blecher, founder of the Johannesburg university CIDA City Campus. In 2010, he joined the Nduna Foundation, founded by Amy Robbins, and Humanity United to found Enterprise Zimbabwe.
In 1999, he became a founding sponsor of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. His mother had become a founding member of its board of directors. Virgin Startup, a delivery partner for the UK's Start Up Loans programme, lent to entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30. An 11-month pilot put £600,000 into 100 businesses.
He is also a signatory of Global Zero, which was launched in Paris in December 2008 and campaigns for the elimination of all nuclear weapons. In October 2018, after the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Branson suspended his advisory role on Saudi Arabia's largest Red Sea tourism project.
His environmental record is more contested. Branson has said he was once a global warming sceptic and that a breakfast meeting with Al Gore changed his mind. On the 9th of February 2007 he announced the Virgin Earth Challenge, a US$25 million prize for a commercially viable design that would remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere each year for at least ten years. In 2006 he pledged to invest US$3 billion over the following decade in tackling global warming. The author and activist Naomi Klein later criticised him for contributing "well under $300 million" by 2014. She also said Virgin airlines' emissions rose considerably after the pledge. In 2013, he co-founded the B Team, a nonprofit of business leaders promoting sustainable business practice.
In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher briefly gave Branson the post of "litter Tsar", charged with keeping Britain tidy. Polls ahead of the first mayoral election in 2000 suggested he would be a viable candidate for Mayor of London, but he expressed no interest.
In March 2015, he said almost all drug use in the UK should be decriminalised, following Portugal's example. He opposed the 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union. On the 28th of June 2016, he told ITV's Good Morning Britain that his company had lost a third of its value and that a planned venture employing more than 3,000 people had been shelved. He backed a second referendum and endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election.
In September 2016, Branson, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and the former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso wrote to the Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte. They urged him to halt the killings of the drug war.
He calls the death penalty "always cruel, barbaric and inhumane". In 2015 he released a letter supporting the American prisoner Richard Glossip on the day Glossip was due to be executed. In 2021 he joined those urging Singapore to halt the execution of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, and afterwards condemned Singapore's "relentless machinery of death". In October 2022, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs invited him to a live televised debate with the minister K. Shanmugam. He declined. In 2023 he protested the planned hanging of Tangaraju Suppiah, a 46-year-old convicted of trafficking 1 kg of cannabis, calling him "innocent". He also appealed for mercy for Saridewi Djamani, executed on the 28th of July 2023.
Money draws sharper criticism. His business empire is owned through a complicated series of offshore trusts and companies. In 2013 he described himself as a "tax exile", having saved millions by ending his mainland British residency and living in the British Virgin Islands. In 2016, then-Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell echoed the label amid calls for Branson's knighthood to be revoked. Branson has said he lives on Necker for health rather than tax reasons.
His private life has had both loss and scandal. He married Kristen Tomassi in 1972, and they divorced in 1979. In 1976 he met Joan Templeman, and they married on Necker Island in 1989. Of their three children, a daughter lived for four days. On the 25th of November 2025, Branson announced on Instagram that Joan had died at 80, saying he was "heartbroken".
Necker Island burned after lightning struck during Hurricane Irene in 2011, and Hurricane Irma left it uninhabitable in 2017. His mother, Eve, died of COVID-19 complications in January 2021, at 96.
In November 2017, the backing singer Antonia Jenae alleged that Branson sexually assaulted her at a 2010 party on Necker Island. A spokesperson said he and others present had "no recollection" of the events, and that Branson apologised if anyone felt uncomfortable. Branson was also friends with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In January 2026 it was revealed that he had emailed Epstein in 2013, writing that he "would love to see you. As long as you bring your harem!"
Branson says non-fiction has shaped him. He most often cites Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. In fiction, he has long admired Peter Pan. In 2006 he founded Virgin Comics, saying it would give "a whole generation of young, creative thinkers a voice".
Continue browsing
Updated
Common questions
What did Richard Branson's headmaster predict on his last day at school?
Headmaster Robert Drayson told Branson he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire. Branson has dyslexia and did poorly academically.
How did Branson start in business?
At sixteen he launched a magazine called Student with Nik Powell. He used it to advertise albums for a mail-order record business, run from the same London church.
Why did Branson sell Virgin Records?
In 1992 he sold the label to EMI for £500 million to keep his airline company afloat. He said he wept when the sale was completed.
What was the 'dirty tricks' dispute with British Airways?
Virgin accused British Airways of poaching passengers, hacking computers and leaking negative stories. British Airways settled, paying £500,000 to Branson, £110,000 to his airline and legal fees of up to £3 million.
When did Branson fly to the edge of space?
On the 11th of July 2021, he flew aboard Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity with three other people. They reached about 86 kilometres above Earth.
What criticisms has Branson faced?
Critics have pointed to his offshore business structure and his description of himself as a tax exile. Naomi Klein also said he contributed well under $300 million to a $3 billion climate pledge by 2014.
All sources
205 references cited across the entry
- 1London's 1000 most influential people 2010: Tycoons & Retailers26 November 2010
- 2NewsVirgin tycoon is knightedBBC News — 3 January 2016
- 3BookThe Sage Handbook of Organizational Behavior: Volume Two: Macro ApproachesJulian Barling — Sage
- 4NewsThirty of the very best of BritishIain Hollingshead — 13 November 2016
- 6NewsFamous birthdays for July 18: Vin Diesel, Kristen Bell18 July 2019
- 7NewsEdward Branson8 May 2011
- 8Finding Your Roots2 February 2016
- 9NewsLike mother, like sonNina Myskow — 13 March 2013
- 10"Forthcoming Marriages", The Times, 22 June 1949, p. 7.
- 11Billionaire Richard Branson Reveals India Connection In Insta Post12 December 2019
- 12Richard Branson. "At school I was dyslexic and a dunce.", The Times, London, 11 September 1998, p. 19
- 13Famous Dyslexics: Richard Branson (entrepreneur)Holly Swinton — 9 July 2015
- 14Learn About the Stories of 8 of the World's Most Successful People with ADHDUniversity of the People — 22 January 2020
- 15JournalMicro-social factors in the development of entrepreneurial giftedness: the case of Richard BransonLarisa V. Shavinina — December 2006
- 16BookThe Virgin Way: Everything I know about leadershipRichard Branson — Portfolio/Penguin — 2014
- 17NewsFamous faces who took rent-free route21 July 1999
- 18How an Anglican Church Bootstrapped Virgin Records28 February 2016
- 19Richard Branson's Fails: 14 Virgin Companies That Went BustMallory Russell — 21 April 2012
- 20BookLosing My VirginityRichard Branson — Ebury Publishing — 2011
- 21NewsHow Billionaires See ThemselvesRobinson Nathan — 2021
- 22Remembering Nik Powell, Virgin Records co-founder and film producerGarth Cartwright — 26 November 2019
- 24Another example was the Net Book Agreement, which limited the ability of book outlets, including discount book clubs, to offer deep discounts.
- 25Richard Branson – Losing my Virginity
- 26NewsRichard Branson BiographyA&E Television Networks
- 29Richard Branson: How a Cancelled Flight Led to the World's Greatest Travel EmpireJ. Zeveloff — May 2011
- 30Entrepreneur Guru Sir Richard BransonEPN — 2 December 2012
- 31NowMusic – The Home Of Hit Music » About NOW27 June 2012
- 33NewsProfile: Richard BransonBBC News — 27 September 2004
- 34Richard Branson and Virgin-Probably Britains best known EntrepreneurSolar Navigator.net
- 37Branson's Virgin Group wins CrossCountry Trains for 15 years Rail issue 294 18 December 1996, p. 6
- 38Virgin to tackle IC West Coast Rail Privatisation News issue 48, 20 February 1997, p. 1
- 39NewsRow over dirty tricks led to decade of hostilitiesLee Glendinning — 2 August 2007
- 40NewsKeynote Speaker Videos on Trend Hunterkeynotes.org
- 42NewsNew Years HonoursBBC News — 31 December 1999
- 44NewsProfile : Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin GalacticIrene Klotz — 11 November 2013
- 45First family of space: Richard Branson and kids will blaze new trailAlan Boyle — 9 November 2013
- 46Sir Richard Branson's Private JetGrant Martin — Gadling — 4 August 2008
- 47Windows Seat29 January 2011
- 48NewsVirgin Express creates Brussels airline17 March 2004
- 49NewsVirgin to sell Nigerian airline8 June 2009
- 51Virgin America touches down for service from San Francisco9 August 2007
- 55NewsUma Thurman to promote Virgin MediaPat Fryer — earthtimes.org — 23 January 2007
- 56Branson launches Virgin Comics with India appealDavid Teather — 7 January 2006
- 57NewsOFT defends 'snitch' policyRuth Sunderland — 5 August 2007
- 58NewsSir Richard Branson's paradise islandCNN — 20 July 2011
- 59NewsVirgin Group buys AirAsia X stakeEmma Thelwell — 10 August 2007
- 60NewsBranson dangles offer for Northern RockDavid Teather et al. — 13 October 2007
- 61NewsNorthern Rock bidder threatens to pull out unless takeover date set, BusinessPhillip Inman — 12 December 2007
- 62Branson launches healthcare businessAlex Barker et al. — 10 January 2008
- 63Virgin amends its profit plans/ Healthcare Republic — 11 July 2008
- 64Virgin drops GP practice plansNursing in Practice — 22 September 2008
- 67UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > FIA release 2010 entry listFormula-1.updatesport.com — 12 June 2009
- 68NewsVirgin set for Manor GP move3 July 2009
- 69NewsRichard Branson chooses Edinburgh for first UK Virgin hotelFebruary 2018
- 70BookLanguage Contact and_Lexical Enrichment in Israeli HebrewGhil'ad Zuckermann — Palgrave Macmillan — 2003
- 71Welcome!, 54th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett 2010 Official SiteGordonbennett2010.com
- 72NHS patients to be treated by Virgin Care in £500m deal30 March 2012
- 74NewsRichard Branson's Virgin Galactic to launch small satellitesJonathan Amos — BBC News — 11 July 2012
- 75NewsWest Coast Main Line deal scrapped after contract flaws discoveredBBC News — 3 October 2012
- 78NewsEast Coast train line to be put into public controlBBC News — 12 February 2018
- 79NewsHyperloop One Is Now 'Virgin Hyperloop One' Thanks to Richard Branson's Investment12 October 2017
- 84How an Actual Elevator Pitch Led This 12-Year-Old Entrepreneur to Appear on Shark Tank and Partner With Richard BransonRose Leadem — 4 October 2017
- 85Portable Skateboard for Your Locker on Shark Tank – Locker BoardJeremy Alexander — 4 October 2017
- 86Shark Tank: Net Worth of All Sharks on the Show Till Date27 March 2017
- 87NewsBusiness Mogul Richard Branson Buys Las Vegas Casino-HotelScott Lawson — 12 April 2018
- 88NewsRichard Branson to launch investment fundBBC News — 3 May 2018
- 90NewsRichard Branson hopes concert will persuade Venezuelan military to open borderEliza Mackintosh — 22 February 2019
- 91NewsSir Richard Branson honoured with Hollywood Walk of Fame starKeiran Southern — 16 October 2018
- 92NewsSir Richard Branson: Israel is a country of great entrepreneurs24 October 2019
- 93NewsAfter feting Virgin's maiden voyage, Branson to meet with Israel space industryJenni Frazer — 24 October 2019
- 94NewsLockdowns trigger dramatic fall in global carbon emissionsFiona Harvey — 19 May 2020
- 95NewsBad Times For Billionaire Branson – Staff At Virgin Atlantic Asked To Take Unpaid Leave As Coronavirus Cripples Air TravelDavid Dawkins — 16 March 2020
- 96NewsBranson offers Caribbean island to secure bailoutSimon Read — BBC News — 20 April 2020
- 97NewsCoronavirus: Sir Richard Branson offers tropical island home to secure Virgin rescueJames Sillars — 21 April 2020
- 98Virgin Atlantic Leaving Gatwick, Retiring 747s, Laying Off 3,150 StaffBen Schlappig — 11 August 2021
- 99NewsVirgin Atlantic to cut 3,000 jobs and quit GatwickBBC News — 5 May 2020
- 100Everything you need to know about Richard Branson going to spaceJackie Wattles — 9 July 2021
- 101Live Blog: Virgin Galactic to launch Richard Branson and Unity22 crew to spaceSeth Kurkowski — 11 July 2021
- 102NewsBranson Completes Virgin Galactic Flight, Aiming to Open Up Space TourismKenneth Chang — 11 July 2021
- 103NewsAmazon's Jeff Bezos makes history with all-civilian suborbital flightDenise Chow — 20 July 2021
- 104Richard Branson rules out further investment in Virgin GalacticPeggy Hollinger et al. — 2 December 2023
- 105NewsNationwide's £2.3bn takeover gain prompts criticism of Virgin Money bossesKalyeena Makortoff — 27 November 2024
- 107NewsVirgin's Robinson Crusoe is desperate to be adoredTom Bower — 12 February 2017
- 108Six memorable Virgin failsJack Preston — virgin.com — 18 January 2016
- 109BookLike a VirginRichard Branson — Virgin Books — 2013
- 111NewsHot-Air Balloonists Crossing Atlantic Break Record3 July 1987
- 112Floating into a Nightmare : Two Barely Survive 6,700-Mile Flight Across Pacific in 220-Foot BalloonRich Roberts — 23 January 1991
- 113NewsBranson sets cross-Channel recordBBC News — 14 June 2004
- 115Richard Branson sets out to crack transatlantic sail recordMichelle Nichols — Meeja — 3 September 2008
- 116Virgin Money Is Attempting to Break Transatlantic Passage Recordnyyc.org — 23 October 2008
- 117onSaturdaymornings.co.uk
- 118NewsBA cuts Branson from Bond movieBBC News — 21 April 2007
- 120NewsSir Richard Branson teaches African entrepreneurs Dragons' Den-styleGraham Ruddick — 25 July 2009
- 123BookMum's the Word: The High-Flying Adventures of Eve BransonEve Branson — AuthorHouse — 2013
- 124Sir Richard Branson interview – Vision MagazineRebecca Burn-Callander — January 2014
- 125NewsGroup Offers Plan to Eliminate Nukes by 203029 June 2009
- 126NewsGroup seeks nuclear weapons banGordon Corera — BBC News — 10 December 2008
- 128Richard Branson temporarily suspends ties with Saudi governmentCNN — 11 October 2018
- 130NewsBranson makes $3bn climate pledgeBBC News — 21 September 2006
- 131NewsBranson Pledges Billions to Fight Global WarmingAndrew C. Revkin — 21 September 2006
- 132Richard Branson failed to deliver on $3bn climate change pledge13 September 2014
- 133BookThis Changes EverythingNaomi Klein — Simon & Schuster — 2014
- 134How Richard Branson's Space Flights Reveal the Inherent Problem With 'Business Impact Initiatives'Kimberlee Josephson — 20 August 2022
- 135Richard Branson says individuals, governments should cap their energy use to help end the war in UkraineKaren Gilchrist — 20 April 2022
- 136NewsBritsaver – an accident waiting to happen.David Byers — 3 December 2005
- 137Sir Richard BransonMartina Heintke
- 138BBC 1997 General Election – Part One20 September 2017
- 139NewsLabour and Tories same – BransonBBC News — 15 April 2005
- 141NewsLondoners snub politicians for mayorBBC News — 28 April 1998
- 142NewsWho's in the running for mayor?BBC News — 10 April 1998
- 143NewsUK should begin decriminalising drugs, say Richard Branson and Nick CleggPatrick Wintour
- 145NewsRichard Branson: Virgin Group lost a third of value since Brexit vote28 June 2016
- 147Duterte's war on drugs is not the answer by Richard BransonGlobal Commission on Drug Policy — 4 August 2016
- 148To the President of the PhilippinesInternational Drug Policy Consortium — 12 September 2016
- 149NewsThe death penalty has no place in the worldVirgin.com — 30 September 2015
- 150NewsPope Francis and Sir Richard Branson appeal for Oklahoma inmate's life30 September 2015
- 151NewsNagaenthran Dharmalingam: Singapore halts execution of man with low IQBBC News — 8 November 2021
- 153Press releaseMinistry of Home Affairs' Response to Sir Richard Branson's Blog Post on 10 October 202222 October 2022
- 156NewsSingapore to execute woman on drugs charge for the first time in 20 yearsBBC News — 27 July 2023
- 157NewsSingapore executes first woman in nearly two decades for drug traffickingHeather Chen et al. — 28 July 2023
- 158A Portrait of the Billionaire as a Young Tax CheatJordan Weissmann — 27 May 2014
- 160NewsThe Sunday Times Rich List 2019: Sir Richard Branson net worth12 May 2019
- 161NewsIs Richard Branson all he's cracked up to be?Aditya Chakrabortty — 21 November 2011
- 162Don't be fooled by Richard Branson's defence of Virgin trainsAditya Chakrabortty — 24 June 2013
- 163The truth about Richard Branson's Virgin Rail profitsAditya Chakrabortty — 10 June 2013
- 164NewsRichard Branson denies being a tax exileJuliette Garside — 13 October 2013
- 165I've been a tax exile for seven years, says BransonRoland Gribben — 13 October 2013
- 166'Tax exile' Richard Branson facing calls for his knighthood to be scrappedJack Fenwick — 28 August 2016
- 167NewsBranson's LuckMichael Specter — 7 May 2007
- 168Richard Branson Has Been Married for 30 Years – These Are His Secrets to a Lasting RomanceStacey Leasca — 7 August 2019
- 169Piers Morgan interviews Richard Branson, Richard talks about death of baby22 February 2009
- 17065 things you've always wanted to know about Richard Branson17 July 2015
- 171NewsSir Richard Branson 'heartbroken' as wife diesHarrison Jones — BBC News — 25 November 2025
- 172NewsEmails Show Warm Relationship Between Epstein and Richard BransonCoral Davenport — 30 January 2026
- 174NewsSir Richard Branson has 'no recollection' of alleged incident at Necker IslandPatrick Sawer — 25 November 2017
- 175Richard Branson apologises after singer alleges assault25 November 2017
- 176NewsBranson sets kitesurfing recordBBC News — 1 July 2012
- 178NewsRichard Branson goes kiteboarding with girls on his back26 March 2014
- 179NewsSir Richard Branson 'thought he would die in bike crashBBC News — 26 August 2016
- 181NewsTwenty people escape fire at Branson's holiday homeBBC News — August 2011
- 182Celebrating my mum, Eve BransonRichard Branson — 11 January 2021
- 184NewsOld Stoics have birthday Teese15 October 2013
- 185About
- 186Richard Branson's reading influencesInfloox.com
- 187BookScrew It, Let's Do It: Lessons in LifeRichard Branson — Random House — 2011
- 188MagazineRichard Branson on How to Use Age to Your AdvantageRichard Branson — 12 November 2012
- 189NewsBranson Taking a Passage to IndiaChris Gardner — 5 January 2006
- 191What Religion is Richard Branson?10 August 2020
- 192Top 10 Most Famous Atheists in the World3 May 2016
- 193Famous atheists and their beliefs26 May 2013
- 194BookThe Virgin Way: If It's Not Fun, It's Not Worth DoingPortfolio — 20 October 2015
- 195BookThe Virgin Way: Everything I Know About LeadershipPortfolio — 9 September 2014
- 196BookLosing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My WayNational Geographic Books — 9 March 2010
- 197BookScrew It, Let's Do ItVirgin Books — 2006
- 198BookLet's Not Screw It, Let's Just Do it: New Lessons for the FutureRandom House Australia — 2007
- 199BookBusiness Stripped BareVirgin Books — 2008
- 200BookArctic Diary: Surviving on Thin IceVirgin Books — 2008
- 201BookReach for the Skies: Ballooning, Birdmen and Blasting into SpaceVirgin Books — 2010
- 202BookGlobalisation Laid Bare: Lessons in International BusinessGibson Square Books — 2010
- 203BookScrew Business as UsualPortfolio/Penguin — 2011
- 204BookLike a Virgin: Secrets They Won't Teach You at Business SchoolVirgin Books — 2013
- 205BookThe Virgin Way: How to Listen, Learn, Laugh and LeadVirgin Books — 2014
- 206BookFinding My VirginityEbury Publishing — 2017