Richard Branson
Born 1950 · Age 75
English entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group; founded numerous companies spanning music, travel, telecoms and space tourism; noted for record‑setting adventures and philanthropy.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Blackheath / Shamley Green area, London/Surrey
Richard Charles Nicholas Branson born to Edward James Branson and Eve Branson.
Dropped out of school to start magazine Student
Left Stowe School at 16 and began youth-culture magazine Student with Nik Powell.
First issue of Student magazine published
First issue of Student magazine appeared (used later to advertise records).
Early net worth estimate
A year after Student's first issue Branson's net worth was estimated at £50,000.
Founded mail-order record business 'Virgin' (mail order)
Set up a mail-order record business called Virgin to raise funds for Student.
Tax investigation and settlement over export-stock records
Questioned for selling records declared export stock; agreed to repay unpaid purchase tax and a £70,000 fine; parents remortgaged family home to help pay.
Opened first Virgin record shop (Oxford Street)
Expanded from mail-order into a bricks-and-mortar discount record store in London.
Co‑founded Virgin Records label
Using earnings from the record store, launched Virgin Records (name signified business inexperience).
Opened The Manor Studio; released Tubular Bells (first Virgin release)
Purchased a country estate and installed a residential studio; Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells (1973) was Virgin's first major hit.
Purchased Necker Island
Bought Necker Island (British Virgin Islands) reportedly to impress Joan Templeman; later part of Virgin Limited Edition.
Net worth estimated at £5 million
By 1979 Branson's net worth was estimated at around £5 million as Virgin expanded internationally.
Purchased Heaven nightclub
Virgin purchased the gay nightclub Heaven in London.
Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series originated
Compilation series emerged from Virgin Records offices in collaboration with EMI.
Founded Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Cargo
Launched the airline Virgin Atlantic (and cargo arm) after chartering a plane to help stranded passengers.
Founded Virgin Holidays
Established Virgin Holidays travel business to complement airline operations.
Beat transatlantic powerboat speed record (Virgin Atlantic Challenger II)
In Virgin Atlantic Challenger II he beat the fastest Atlantic crossing record by two hours.
Crossed the Atlantic by hot-air balloon (record)
Part of team that made the first hot-air balloon crossing of the Atlantic.
Crossed the Pacific by balloon (record, 6,700 miles)
In January 1991 crossed the Pacific from Japan to Arctic Canada in a balloon, breaking distance/speed records.
Sold Virgin Records to EMI for £500 million
Sold the Virgin label to Thorn EMI for £500M to raise capital for Virgin Atlantic; emotionally difficult decision.
Settlement with British Airways over 'dirty tricks' (compensation)
After legal action over BA 'dirty tricks', British Airways paid Branson £500,000 personally and further sums to his airline; legal costs up to ~£3M were paid by BA.
Founded V2 Records (re‑enter music business)
Created V2 Records in 1996; Branson owned around 5% personally.
Founded Virgin Rail Group / won CrossCountry and West Coast franchises
Established Virgin Rail Group during British Rail privatisation; began InterCity CrossCountry and West Coast services (operations started Jan and Mar 1997).
1998 Morocco-to-Hawaii long-distance balloon flight (record segment)
Late-1998 flight from Morocco to Hawaii set records (first to cross whole of Asia by hot-air balloon during attempts).
Published autobiography 'Losing My Virginity'
Released autobiographical memoir, international best-seller.
1998 around‑the‑world balloon attempt ended in Pacific
Attempt at circumnavigation with Steve Fossett et al. ended in Pacific Ocean on 25 Dec 1998 after long flight; set some records en route.
Launched Virgin Mobile (global expansion around this time)
Expanded telecoms footprint with Virgin Mobile ventures (Virgin Mobile launched broadly by 1999).
Knighted for services to entrepreneurship
Awarded knighthood (sources show 1999/2000 timing; listed in sources as March 2000/1999).
Founded/Backed Virgin Blue (Australia)
Virgin Blue airline (Australia) launched in 2000; became one of Virgin’s fastest growing businesses.
Set English Channel amphibious vehicle record (Dover–Calais, 1h40m6s)
Traveled Dover to Calais in a Gibbs Aquada in 1:40:06 — fastest crossing of the English Channel in an amphibious car (record set March 2004).
Announced founding of Virgin Galactic (space tourism)
Signed deal to license SpaceShipOne tech; announced Virgin Galactic and ticket price target of US$200,000 per seat.
Sunday Times Rich List (~£3 billion)
Listed ninth in The Sunday Times Rich List 2006, reported worth slightly more than £3 billion.
Sold Virgin Mobile to NTL:Telewest for £900 million
Sold Virgin Mobile business to NTL:Telewest for £900M; retained brand-licensing income (approx £8.5M/year).
Pledged profits to fund low‑carbon fuels research (~US$3B pledge)
On 21 Sep 2006 pledged to invest profits of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains in research for environmentally-friendly fuels; investment estimated at US$3 billion.
Named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People
In 2007 Time magazine included Branson in its 100 Most Influential People in the World.
Purchased Makepeace Island (Noosa, Australia)
Bought the Australian property Makepeace Island (part of Virgin Limited Edition holdings).
Virgin Media launched (quad‑play company)
New company (merged assets including NTL) launched as Virgin Media; Branson earned brand licensing income but did not retain ownership.
Launched The Virgin Earth Challenge (US$25M prize)
Announced US$25M prize to remove anthropogenic greenhouse gases commercially and sustainably.
Acquired 20% stake in AirAsia X
Bought a 20% stake in the long‑haul Malaysian carrier AirAsia X.
Featured in Forbes Rich Lists (~US$2.5B reported)
In 2009 listed on Forbes World Billionaires list (cited ~$2.5B in some sources).
Relaunched Virgin Hotels (brand relaunch)
Virgin Hotels brand relaunched; later expansion included buying properties and development of new hotels.
Served as 'stewardess' on AirAsia flight to fulfil F1 bet
Following 2010 F1 bet, Branson worked a charity flight dressed as a stewardess on 12 May 2013.
Virgin Trains East Coast commenced operating InterCity East Coast
Joint venture (Stagecoach 90% / Virgin 10%) began operating East Coast franchise in March 2015.
Launched Virgin Voyages (cruise line) — keel milestone
Virgin Voyages announced keel-laying for its first ship in October 2017; company was announced and developed mid‑2010s (cruise brand formation 2015).
Invested in Hyperloop One; joined board and became chairman
Virgin Group invested in Hyperloop One; Branson joined its board and became chairman in December 2017.
Guest investor on Shark Tank (Season 9 premiere); invested in Locker Board
Appeared on Shark Tank as a guest investor and invested in Locker Board (sustainable skateboards).
Announced acquisition of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas)
Announced plan to acquire the Las Vegas Hard Rock casino-hotel and rebrand as Virgin Hotels; purchase completed and conversion planned.
Virgin Trains (West Coast) franchise ended; replaced by Avanti West Coast
Virgin Trains lost/ceased operating West Coast services; Avanti West Coast took over on 7 Dec 2019.
COVID‑19: Put Necker Island up as collateral and announced staff measures
During the pandemic Branson used Necker Island as loan collateral to help save Virgin Atlantic; asked staff to take unpaid leave and later announced layoffs.
Virgin Atlantic announced 3,000 job cuts and fleet reductions
Virgin Atlantic announced 3,000 staff layoffs, fleet downsizing and retirement of 747-400s due to COVID-19 impacts.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas opened (rebranded Hard Rock)
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas opened to the public on 25 March 2021 after rebranding the Hard Rock property.
Flew on Virgin Galactic Unity 22 to edge of space (VSS Unity)
Traveled as a passenger on Virgin Galactic Unity 22 suborbital test flight; mission ~1 hour, peak altitude 53.5 miles (86.1 km); became third-oldest person to fly to space.
Declared decision not to inject more funds into Virgin Galactic
In September 2023 Branson said he would not inject additional funds into Virgin Galactic, citing limited spare liquidity across his empire.
Forbes estimated net worth at US$3 billion
In June 2023 Forbes listed Branson's estimated net worth at US$3 billion.
Released audiobook 'Losing and Finding My Virginity'
In 2024 Branson released a combined audiobook of his two bestselling memoirs, read by himself.
Sale of Virgin Money UK to Nationwide; Branson received £724M
In October 2024 Virgin Money UK was sold to Nationwide Building Society; Branson reportedly received £724 million ( £414M from shareholding, £310M for brand use).
Key Achievement Ages
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