RICHARD BRANSON & VIRGIN
Probably Britain's best known Entrepreneur
Birth Name: Richard Charles Nicholas Branson Birthdate: 7/18/1950
In a recent interview Sir Richard was asked: "did he ever let his heart rule head." He replied: "All the time - I think that unless you do, you're not going to be a very good business person. The only really good reason for doing things in business is based on what your heart tells you, not your head."
When asked how a beginner should invest £1,000, he said: "My own opinion is to put it into an Index tracking fund and forget about it - or start a business if you have a good idea." Now, that's an idea!
At the age of 99, Sir Richard's grandmother wrote to him to suggest he read: "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking, because she had liked it. Her advice, and this applies to us all,: "You've got one go in life, so make the most of it. " It would seem Sir Richard heard those words before they were said. As the head of 150 or so enterprises that carry the Virgin name, all of which make money, his personal wealth is estimated at nearly $3 billion. It seems to us he has followed that personal dream and made the most of it.
Sir Richard still holds the record as fastest to cross the Atlantic ocean in a boat called Atlantic Challenger. Another goal, was to be the first to circle the globe in a balloon, but here he was pipped at the post by the Breitling Orbiter. He took this rather well. Nevertheless, he set the standard by which others were eager to compete. Not a bad achievement for a dyslexic.
Sir Richard's talents began to show themselves during his later school years. Seeing the energy of student activism in the late 60's, he decided to start his own student newspaper. Not particularly unusual, except his paper was intended to tie many schools together. It would be focused on the students and not the schools. It would sell advertising to big business and feature articles by Ministers of Parliament, Rock Stars, and movie celebrities. That was the business plan that 17 year old Richard Branson put together with his friend, Jonny Gems. The rest is history. The headmaster of Stowe, where Richard and Jonny were students, wrote: "Congratulations, Branson. I predict that you will either go to prison or become a millionaire.“
After this Sir Richard turned his attention to music. The name "Virgin" came about when when one group member said: "they we're complete virgins at business." Virgin Airlines is very much a Richard Branson style company offering reasonable on transatlantic flights. Once again Sir Richard spotted a gap in the market and filled it spectacularly. Congratulations, and here's to your next Billion.
Sir Richard Branson, is the reserve pilot for the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, is one of Britain's best known entrepreneurs who combines his enthusiasm for running the Virgin group of companies with his love for high-risk, high-adventure world record-breaking attempts.
In 1984 Richard formed Virgin Atlantic Airways and in the last two decades has grown the airline into Britain's second-largest carrier. To promote the Virgin Atlantic name, Richard became involved in a number of high-publicity record-breaking attempts throughout the 1980s and '90s. In 1986, his boat Virgin Atlantic Challenger II crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest ever recorded time. A year later he flew the Virgin Atlantic Flyer balloon - the largest ever built - across the Atlantic.
In 1991 Richard's balloon crossed the Pacific from Japan to Canada breaking all existing records and he followed that with a number of attempts to circumnavigate the entire world. These were sadly thwarted by bad weather and in 1999 a Swiss team became the first to complete the trip. In 2002 Steve Fossett (Richard's partner for the earlier Virgin Global Challenger balloon project and now the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer) became the first person to complete a solo circumnavigation of the globe by balloon. Now the pair are reunited to attempt another great aviation first - a solo, non-stop flight around the world in less than 80 hours.
Richard received a knighthood for his services to entrepreneurship in 1999. He is married and lives with Joan and their two children, Holly and Sam, in London and Oxfordshire, UK.
By RICHARD BRANSON & VIRGIN
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