Richard Branson Biography

Virgin Founder & Entrepreneur

"Sometimes I do wake up in the mornings and feel like I've just had the most incredible dream. I've just dreamt my life" - Richard Branson

Full name: Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson
Famous for: Founding the famous Virgin brand, attracting media attention with his marketing tactics, and for his balloon adventures.
Branson details: Born July 18, 1950 / Lives - United Kingdom
Books: Losing my Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, And Made A Fortune Doing Business My Way
Sir Richard Branson: The Autobiography
Screw It, Lets Do It: Lessons in Life



Sir Richard Branson is one of Britain's best known entrepreneurs who combines his enthusiasm for running the Virgin group with his love for high-risk, high-adventure world record-breaking attempts. After dropping out of school at the age of 15, Richard Branson, who suffers from dyslexia, had his first entrepreneurial chance at the age of 16 when he published a student magazine entitled Student.

Virgin Music Group

In the 1970s Richard founded the hugely successful Virgin Records, named as such due to the fact it was his first business venture, music label after starting a discount records mail order venture with his friend Nik Powell.

In 1992, the Virgin Music Group - record labels, music publishing and recording studios - was sold to Thorn EMI in a $1 billion dollar US deal.

Virgin Atlantic Airways

Virgin Atlantic Airways was started in 1984 and is now the second largest British long haul international airline and operates a fleet of Boeing 747 aircrafts to New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Orlando, Boston, San Francisco, Washington, Dallas, and Tokyo.

Branson started Virgin Atlantic Airways after a flight he was scheduled for was cancelled. Upno hearing of the cancellation, he quickly had a charter jet liner secured, and invited the passengers of the cancelled flight to fly for free. He jokingly posted a hand-written sign above the entryway, reading: "Virgin Atlantic Airways - Flight 1." Several of the passengers of that flight became investors of the airline.

The Virgin Brand

Richard Branson has expanded the Virgin name, creating one fo the most recognisable brands in the world. The Virgin Group has more than 200 entertainment, media and travel companies around the world. Virgin's interests are as vast as the geograhical coverage the brand has, with business located throughout the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Asia, Europe and South Africa. Virgin's interests include:

• Virgin Atlantic - An international airline flying to many major destinations.
• Virgin Megastores - Music Super-markets located in major locations in the UK, USA and Australia.
• Virgin Books - Publisher and distributor of books.
• Virgin Credit Card - Branson's attempt to provide credit card at a reasonable price.
• Virgin Holidays - Book a holiday and fly Virgin Atlantic?
• Virgin Trains - Virgin making trains sexy in the United Kingdom.
• V2 Music - Largest UK based independent recording label.
• Virgin Active - Chain of fitness clubs throughout the United Kingdom.
• Ulusaba - Luxury game reserve located in South Africa.
• Necker Island - Branson's own private island located in the British Virgin Islands.

There are many more business that bear the Virgin brand, with more to come as Branson has expressed interest in opening a casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and he recently registered the business name "Virgin Interplanetary", in case space travel becomes commercially viable. Branson is always looking for an interesting business ideas and on the Virgin.com web site there is even a section to submit your new and exciting business venture that Branson may consider pursuing.

A Taste for Adventure

Since 1985, Richard Branson has been involved in a number of world record breaking land, air speed and distance attempts.

• In 1986 his boat, "Virgin Atlantic Challenger II" crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest ever recorded time.
• In 1987, Branson flew the first hot-air balloon, called the "Virgin Atlantic Flyer", across the Atlantic. The balloon was also the largest ever flown at 2.3 million cubic feet capacity, reaching speeds in excess of 130 miles per hour (209 k/ph).
• In January 1991 Branson crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Arctic Canada, the furtherst distance of 6,700 miles. Again, he broke all existing records, with speeds of up to 245 miles per hour in a balloon of 2.6 million cubic feet.
• In 1998, Richard Branson, Per Lindstrand and Steve Fossett made a record-breaking flight from Morocco to hawaii whilst trying to circumnavigate the globe by balloon. Their dream of global flight was shattered by bad weather, and a year later a Swiss team successfully circumnavigated the globe.

In December 1999, Richard Branson was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen's Millennium Honours List for "services to entrepreneurship".