Biography of Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English entrepreneur and investor, co-founder of the transnational corporation Virgin Group, consisting of more than 400 companies in different countries of the world.
Forbes magazine estimated his financial fortune at $5 billion. The businessman is famous for his participation in the space tourism project, his love of shocking the public, his passion for extreme travel and his penchant for adventurism.
Billionaire Richard Branson
His extravagant acts include appearing at the opening of his company's bridal salon in women's wedding attire, a record-breaking hot air balloon flight across the Pacific Ocean, a high-speed crossing of the English Channel in an amphibious vehicle, and a provocative photo shoot for Vanity Fair magazine.
The photograph in question took place in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Sir Richard's Necker Island while he was kitesurfing with a completely naked South African supermodel Danny Parkinson sitting on the business tycoon's back.
Richard Branson's childhood and youth
The flamboyant billionaire was born on July 18, 1950 in southeast London in the Blackheath district to a lawyer-barrister and former flight attendant on airplanes. In addition to him, the couple had two younger daughters. Branson's father belonged to the noble class. He was the son of a judge of the Supreme Court of England and a privy councillor.
Richard Branson at school
Mrs. Branson had a great influence on the development and formation of the strong character of her son. Although the methods of her upbringing were not entirely clear. So, as a child, she gave him serious tests. For example, one day a woman dropped her 4-year-old son out of the car a few kilometers from home and told him to look for his dad, while she drove away.
Branson received his education in closed educational institutions, as befits a child from the family of a hereditary aristocrat. He initially attended Scaitcliffe, a boarding school for boys aged 6 to 13 in the small village of Egham, Surrey. Then, until the age of 16, he attended the Stowe boarding school, located one hundred kilometers from London in Buckinghamshire.
Having problems with learning ability due to dyslexia, he studied poorly, but even then he showed a penchant for extraordinary initiatives, which were strongly supported by his mother. For example, he made proposals for reforming existing school traditions and organizations to the director of his privileged educational institution, Robert Drayson.
Richard Branson in his youth
In particular, the young man defended the idea of organizing a bar for high school students, repurposing the canteen into a buffet, saving on the number of employees, and abolishing the rule for all students to be present at football matches, arguing that forcing strong players to watch the success is unethical in relation to weaker schoolchildren . As a result, when the young man graduated from school in 1967, the director, saying goodbye, noted that in the future he would either go to prison or become a millionaire. As it turned out, the teacher was not mistaken.
early years
Richard Branson was born in 1950 in a London suburb to Edward James and Eve Branson (before Huntley Flindt's marriage). He grew up in a close-knit family and was the oldest of four children. His paternal ancestors were representatives of the law. His grandfather served as a Supreme Court judge, and Richard's father followed in his footsteps, becoming a lawyer.
Eva, Richard's mother, was a bright woman who loved adventurous adventures. During the war, she dreamed of becoming a pilot, but at that time the path to heaven was closed to women. With a little cunning, she still managed to become a pilot, disguised as a man. After the war, she was able to fulfill her dream again and become an international flight attendant, despite not knowing foreign languages and lacking medical education. After having children, she ran a small business: weaving baskets, weaving carpets, decorating packaging boxes for sale, etc. She always encouraged Richard in his endeavors and helped as much as she could. As Richard himself says: “ My mother is one of those people for whom the word “impossible” does not exist.” She is convinced that if a person really gets down to business, then nothing is impossible for him .”
Another inspiring example for little Richard was his great-grandfather's cousin, polar explorer Robert Scott. He visited Antarctica twice and became one of the first to achieve this achievement. Another example of breaking stereotypes was Richard's grandmother, Dorothy. She became the oldest person in the UK to pass the Latin dance test at 89. She also played golf and rode on an ocean liner when she was over 90 years old.
Inspired by the example of his loved ones, Richard Branson learned from childhood the principle of “ Take it and do it ,” which guided him throughout his life. Despite his lack of experience, he took on the implementation of his ideas with inspiration, which helped him implement dozens, even hundreds of projects, while others were waiting for a better opportunity. As he himself says: “ I always find more reasons to do something than not to do it. Is it better to make mistakes from time to time or to live tightly closed and miss opportunities one after another?
Studying at school was difficult for young Richard. Later it turns out that he has dyslexia, or a disorder in the ability to master reading and writing. This created a lot of problems for him, as most of the teachers thought that he was just lazy. Despite problems with his studies, Richard excelled in sports and was the captain of three school teams in different sports. But a serious injury put an end to his sports career, and he had to look for another path to success.
Richard learned his first lesson in business at the age of 9 , when he and his friend decided to grow Christmas trees to sell them at Christmas. The idea looked nice, but ended in failure, as the rabbits gnawed all the planted seeds. The next business was also related to biology, when Richard was breeding and selling budgies. This idea was more successful, but in the end, the parents got tired of it and the business had to be closed. Despite the first failures, Richard did not give up and soon a new idea came to his mind.
The beginning of Richard Branson's career
The first successful project of the current oligarch was the release of a free magazine for youth audiences, Student, in 1968. Richard, together with a friend, managed to organize his payback at the expense of advertisers, attract attention and interview famous personalities, including Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, Scottish psychiatrist Ronald Laing, one of the founders of the Beatles John Lennon. Although the publication had to close about a year later due to low profits, Branson gained invaluable experience in running a business.
Richard Branson and Mick Jagger
In addition, in parallel with the publishing business, the young entrepreneur opened a charitable Student Consulting Center, which exists to this day, providing assistance in various fields (legal, psychological, medical).
Fun in life, fun in work
Sir Richard Branson writes his rich biography not only as a businessman and investor, but also as a world record holder. He is a fanatic who has given his heart to water sports and aeronautics. Several times Branson went out into the ocean on a small boat himself and with his son, or went on a trip, or tried to cross the English Channel in an amphibious car... He was not always lucky, he crashed and barely escaped, but, as always happens , daring attempts were crowned with victory. Today Richard Branson is a world record holder!
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Risk and fun are the basic rules of Richard Branson's life and business. Journalists all over the world adore him for his openness and challenge to the public. He responds to them with new news stories, providing his companies with free advertising on the front pages.
What is each of his stories about dressing up worth! He wore a wedding dress to the opening of the first bridal clothing store, spent a day as a flight attendant on board his Virgin Atlantic plane, managed to go out in public in a pink dressing gown, and even advertised mobile phones on the street without clothes.
It is also worth noting Virgin’s advertising videos, which have repeatedly come under condemnation from moralists. Sex and money, same-sex love, nude models – sheer provocation and challenge!
His cheerful disposition is also reflected in the corporation's policy towards its employees. A light funk mood contributes to the creativity of the staff: no suits or ties, communication without formalities (managers and subordinates on a first-name basis, relaxing and drinking beer together), no meetings or long bureaucratic procedures. So an ordinary flight attendant shared her thoughts about clothes for wedding ceremonies and weddings and a day later became a partner of the newly founded Virgin Brides, for the presentation of which Branson personally dressed as a bride.
Richard Branson and Virgin Group
Branson's next business project was the sale of popular sound recordings by mail. The name ) was invented among his colleagues from Student.
The year 1970 was successful for the company. But the next one will be unprofitable due to the strike of postal workers that swept across the country. As a result, Richard had the idea of opening his own music store, which he implemented in 1971 together with school friend Nick Powell, buying an estate north of Oxford for a studio.
Richard Branson's first store
The first release from Virgin Records was 19-year-old multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield's debut album, Tubular Bells, released in 1973. It became a bestseller, a leader in the British charts and received a Grammy music award, laying the financial foundation for the further successful development of the company.
Virgin entered into agreements with such dubious groups as the scandalous Sex Pistols, but at the same time, it opened to the public non-commercial experimental rock, present in the groups Faust and Can, and the melodic pop of the new wave group Culture Club. The company also collaborated with Sting, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Rolling Stones, Belinda Carlisle and other performers. In 1982, the company acquired the gay nightclub Heaven.
Virgin Records
Richard and his friends were the first to sell music records by mail. Their company was called "Slipped Disk", but Richard did not really like the name, as it was long and associated with the music industry. Even then, he wanted to have a single brand name, under which it would be possible to create different companies in different industries. Someone once suggested: “ After all, we are virgins in business, let it be Virgin .” After this, the original name was changed to Virgin Mail Order Records, and the company quickly became popular. Richard also brought back his friend Nick, with whom he worked at the magazine.
The company's success was facilitated, firstly, by advertising in the still-published Student magazine, and secondly, prices for records sent by mail were noticeably lower than in stores. The business was steadily gaining momentum until, suddenly, there was a strike by UK postal workers. It was then that Richard and Nick decided to open their first record store.
There was little time and money to open a store, so the friends came up with another brilliant idea. They found a shoe store on London's busy Oxford Street with an empty second floor. Nick convinced the owner of the premises, who owned a shoe store on the ground floor, that the crowd that would go to their music store would also buy shoes along the way. I must say that there was indeed a crowd, but no one was buying shoes. After some time, this strategy was applied to subsequent Virgin Records stores.
These stores have become a real haven for music lovers. They became a kind of hangout place where visitors could sit on armchairs and cushions, listen to the latest music and chat with other music lovers. Although initially many people came to the store to listen to music, Richard and his partners were able to change the concept of the store and increase sales. But despite successful sales, Richard understood that the bulk of the money in the music business revolved not around stores and concerts, but around record companies.
Richard had a new dream: to buy a country house where musicians could live away from the bustle of the city and annoying correspondents, truly devoting themselves to creating music. There was one problem: an amount of £30,000 was needed to buy a house. Branson did not have such an amount. The company received the first 20,00 pounds on credit from the bank, Richard received 2,500 from his parents. The remaining 7,500 were lent to him by his Aunt Joyce (he later learned that she had mortgaged her house for this!) As a result, the estate was purchased.
Its gradual transformation into a recording studio began. Despite the presence of several stores and a nascent recording studio, Richard was full of debts that would soon have to be repaid. To increase his income, he inadvertently tried record smuggling without realizing the consequences of his actions. However, this time fortune was not on his side.
He was arrested and accused of selling records in Virgin stores that were declared as export goods. A criminal case was never filed against Branson; he was released on bail from his parents' home. This was the first and last time he broke the law. Richard remembered the instructions of his school teacher and decided that since he had already been to prison, now all that remained was to fulfill the second part of the instructions and become a millionaire. It couldn’t have come at a better time in 1971 when Branson’s cousin Simon Draper came to London, who was well versed in music, like no one else knew all the modern trends and albums of almost every artist. He was a godsend for Virgin.
Virgin Records' first star million was brought by a young British composer and instrumentalist Mike Oldfield. Oldfield's debut album Tubular Bells, released in 1973, topped the UK charts for a long time. Virgin Records sold more than twenty million copies of the album, and the proceeds fed the company for several more years. Richard's next discovery was the infamous punk band Sex Pistols, and in 1978 he introduced the world to a young performer who soon became known under the pseudonym Sting. Then there was successful collaboration with the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Boy George, Phil Collins and others.
In 1983, there were already about 50 companies under his Virgin brand with a turnover of about $17 million. Most of these companies were quite small and were only a small part of the Virgin consortium, which had music at its heart. But even this seemed not enough for Richard, so in search of new directions for business, he decides to found his own airline.
Richard Branson's business
In order to develop new areas of activity for the consortium, the tireless entrepreneur has created many other companies of various profiles under his brand since 1983. He opened enterprises involved in real estate, insurance, trade, film production, lending, mobile communication services, tourism, retail sales of books, alcoholic beverages, investments in environmental and health projects and others.
Richard Branson and his airline Virgin
In 1984, the businessman decided to found his own airline, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, then organized Virgin Express, Nigeria, and America airlines. Due to financial difficulties and the development of Atlantic, in 1992 he had to sell the Virgin label to EMI for 500 million pounds sterling (about $800 million). Wanting to stay in the music business that started the entire corporation, he later created the V2 record company.
In 2004, Branson announced Virgin Galactic's participation in a project to organize space travel. The company received applications for participation in suborbital flights from 500 potential tourists at a tour cost of 250 thousand dollars for one passenger. For the needs of “space tourism,” they opened the world’s first private “spaceport” in the desert of the Sierra state, New Mexico, and developed the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7fu1KxdDTg
Despite the fact that at the end of 2014, during testing, this device crashed, during which one of the pilots died, the richest man in the United Kingdom announced his intention to develop his research. In an interview, he noted that he dreams of admiring the Earth from space, surviving the acceleration from zero to three and a half thousand miles per hour in just 8 seconds and experiencing fivefold overload.
In 2006, Branson announced his intention to invest profits from the Atlantic airline and the Trains rail transportation company (about $3 billion) to create environmentally friendly fuels. In 2007, he opened a company that provides storage services for umbilical cord blood stem cells, which can become health insurance for the customers' children and themselves throughout their lives.
In 2008, Sir Richard hosted a meeting of world leaders on his Necker Island in the Caribbean to discuss concepts for combating the problem of global warming. The event was attended by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, American businessman and founder of the Wikipedia portal Jimmy Wales, and Google search engine developer Lawrence Page. Branson also established a $25 million prize for the creators of technologies that effectively counteract the greenhouse effect.
Business
In 1971, Branson's first store opened in London. It was called Virgin Record. Later, with his companion and part-time childhood friend Nick Powell, they set up a recording studio, which they then rented out to musicians.
Within its walls, Mike Oldfield created the album “Tubular Bells”, which became a collection of hits that made the multi-instrumentalist famous. Then the Sex Pistols rented the studio. Interestingly, no company had previously agreed to sign a contract with the British pop group.
Richard Branson gave the Sex Pistols the opportunity to create music and was not mistaken: he himself would later call this collaboration the most profitable in the history of the Virgin Record label. In addition, Branson signed contracts with the bands Genesis and the Rolling Stones.
Entrepreneur Richard Branson
In 1982, Richard Branson and Randolph Fields opened another project under the Virgin label - an airline. Virgin Atlantic operated flights between America and the UK, the first of which occurred in 1984. The company has become competitive.
Between 1980 and 1990, journalists claimed that Branson was on good terms with Margaret Thatcher and even had her support. It was assumed that the young and successful entrepreneur could soon take the post of mayor of London.
In 1992, Virgin Atlantic was facing bankruptcy. By selling Virgin Record, the owners decided to cope with the airline's financial problems. A year later, Branson founded Virgin Radio. Later he decided to return to the music industry by creating a second music label, but then put it up for sale in 2007.
Richard Branson owns an airline
In addition, in 1997, the businessman privatized the railway company. The company carried passengers under the same label. Later, in 2004, a second airline appeared, but not in London, but in Australia. Branson didn't stop there. He is the owner of the company Virgin Galactic, which offers anyone who wants to fly into space for big money.
Richard Branson has been involved in the cellular communications industry since 2007. Next, the businessman opens banks, travel agencies, hotels, and launches a publishing house. In addition, he owns a European gay club.
Virgin Group is the largest corporation, uniting more than four hundred companies. By the way, the exact number of companies is unknown even to Branson. Every year new companies and subsidiaries appear whose owners pay to use the label.
He writes in books about the ups and downs that led Branson to five billion US dollars. "To hell with all of it! Take it and do it!” already sounds like a call. The main advice of a businessman is to listen more, talk less. Take on a task even if there is no guarantee of successful completion.
Books by Richard Branson “To hell with everything! Take it and do it" and "Naked Business"
Today everyone knows about the courage of the universal entrepreneur. Branson is a fan of extreme sports and has tried to break world records more than once. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a catamaran and flew around the globe on an airplane.
In 2020, the book “My Rules” was published. The smiling and outrageous king of business encourages you to listen, learn, laugh and be a leader. Each line is advice to work on yourself, to be better, to survive in harsh conditions. Branson also motivates young entrepreneurs online: he posts on Instagram for his many subscribers.
Richard Branson's records
The billionaire, who has been described as both a hippie and an adrenaline junkie, has also become famous for his attempts to break some world records, despite the risk of such undertakings. So in 1985, he attempted to win the Atlantic Blue Ribbon prize, which is awarded to ships that cross the Atlantic Ocean in record time. As a result, his ship sank, and he was rescued by a British Air Force helicopter. A year later, he finally broke the record, covering the distance 2 hours faster than the previous record holder.
Richard Branson loves to shock and surprise
Two years later, for the first time in history, he crossed the Atlantic in the largest balloon, with a volume of 65 thousand cubic meters, flying at a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour.
In 1991, he flew from Japan to Canada over the Pacific Ocean on a balloon with a volume of 74 thousand corresponding units. During the flight, Branson covered 11 thousand kilometers. At the same time, he set a new speed record (about 400 kilometers per hour).
In 2004, the oligarch also broke the speed record for crossing the English Channel. Moreover, he accomplished it in an amphibious vehicle (in one hour 40 minutes 6 seconds), almost quadrupling the previous achievement (6 hours).
Funny stories
Richard Branson is the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon. Without a shadow of a doubt, he provided sponsorship to his friend, American Steve Fossett, who died on September 4, 2007 and was also the holder of many records.
Richard Branson, whose biography has seen many unexpected turns, claims that on June 27, 2008, he refused to pay a bribe of one million euros to a French minister who asked for her assistance in obtaining permission to open on Sundays for Virgin Megastores.
In 2010, Richard Branson, who owns the Virgin Racing team and Virgin Airlines, made a bet with Tony Fernandez, the owner of Lotus Racing and Air Asia. According to the terms of the dispute, the one whose team scores fewer points in the constructors' championship at the World Championship will have to work as a flight attendant for the winning airline. Lotus was in 10th place and Virgin in 12th. Richard Branson paid off the debt on May 12, 2013, on a flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur.
The witty Branson is happily quoted by his fans from various fields of activity. But most importantly. What everyone needs to remember is perhaps this quote: “The lesson I learned and followed all my life was that you have to try, and try, and try again - but never give up!”
Personal life of Richard Branson
An adventurous and active lifestyle did not interfere with Richard’s personal life. His first marriage occurred during the birth of Virgin. He married Kristen Tomassi, the marriage did not last long. A friend could not stand the constant phone calls that accompanied the life of a novice businessman. They parted as friends.
Richard Branson with his wife Joan
The billionaire's current second wife is named Joan. He met her in an antique store, then, despite her marriage, courted her for a year. As a result, she left her husband and moved in with a persistent admirer. In 1979, their daughter Claire Sarah was born, who, unfortunately, lived only 4 days. But the couple did not break up and did not give up trying to have offspring. A year later, their daughter Holly was born, and 4 years later, she had a brother, Sam.
The daughter of a business tycoon is a pediatrician, his son is involved in a film production company.
Richard Branson and his family: wife and children
Despite the nickname "Lionheart", Sir Richard is very kind to his children. At Christmas 2020, Holly gave him twin grandchildren, and two months later Sam had a son.
They have known Prince William and Harry since childhood, since Sir Richard was on friendly terms with Princess Diana. She and her children loved to relax on his island.
The billionaire's autobiographical book, Losing My Virginity, published in 1998, became an international bestseller. He received a personal knighthood in 1999 for his contribution to entrepreneurship.
Richard Branson today
Richard considers it his life credo to do only what brings pleasure and arouses interest, regardless of the lack of knowledge or experience in any field. He believes that life is too short to waste it on uninteresting things.
Currently, he sponsors developments in the field of ecology, projects for the protection of the jungle, which plays a decisive role in shaping the planet’s climate, as well as the “Elders” organization, designed to find ways to resolve world conflicts.
Sir Richard Branson
Virgin Galactic, in partnership with communications startup OneWeb, also intends to introduce space Internet. Branson has signed a contract to launch 39 commercial satellites that will be used to provide global access to the Internet. The cost of the contract has not been disclosed, but experts estimate it to be around $390 million. In addition, the companies reached an agreement on further cooperation and the launch of another hundred microsatellites. Virgin plans to use LauncherOne to launch them into orbit. The first launches are planned for 2020. The French company is participating in the project, which has committed to carry out 21 launches using Soyuz launch vehicles.
In 2020, the business magnate, having sold his house in Oxfordshire to his children, moved permanently to a luxurious mansion on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, where he has at his disposal the Necker Belle yacht, the Necker Nymph submarine and does not have to pay taxes.
Richard Branson quotes and rules, audiobooks and videos
And now the 10 most revealing quotes and aphorisms from Richard Branson:
1. If you are an entrepreneur and have not made mistakes, then you are not an entrepreneur.
2. I'm always glad when I get extremely bad service. No, I'm not a masochist - it's just that some of my best business ideas have come from being poorly served.
3. My business model is very simple: surround yourself with great people and give them enough freedom to create great things.
4. I am sure: you should not let the wretched word “impossible” stop you.
5. Don't be afraid to take calculated risks. Sometimes it's better to have a pie in the sky than a bird in the hand.
6. In business, as in life, it is important to do good.
7. Remember: no one has ever regretted spending too little time in the office on their deathbed!
8. Luck doesn’t come by itself: you have to work at it.
9. My slogan: live happily, and the money will come.
10. Business is designed to improve and enrich people's lives, otherwise it is not worth starting.
Listen to Branson's audiobooks and watch this film about him:
