It all began at 16 for Richard Branson with the launching of Student Magazine. At 17 he had already set up his first charity—the Student Advisory Centre. Born in 1950, this British entrepreneur really got his start selling records out of his car. In 1970 the Virgin brand was born. He founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer and opened his own record shop.
Branson the Entrepreneur
From there business for Richard Branson took off, as he added a record label and Virgin Megastores popped up all over the U.K. and Ireland. In 2006, Virgin revenues combined exceeded 10 billion pounds—$20 billion in U.S. dollars.
Branson was knighted in 1999 for his "services in Entrepreneurship”, earning him the honored title of “Sir”.
Branson the Risk Taker
Since 1985, Branson has pursued world record-breaking as a favorite past time. He has set several records, including:
In 1987 Branson crossed the Atlantic Ocean in his hot-air balloon, the “Virgin Atlantic Flyer”. This was the first time a hot-air balloon crossed the Atlantic and the largest hot air balloon ever flown, measuring 2.3 million cubic feet.
From 1995 to 1998, Branson, Per Lindstrand, and Steve Fossett attempted to travel around the world in a hot-air balloon several times. They successfully made a record-breaking flight from Morocco to Hawaii, but were beat by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones in 1999, who were the first people to circumnavigate the globe by hot-air balloon.
Branson broke another world record in 2004 when he crossed the English Channel in the fastest time recorded…in an amphibious vehicle!
In the News
Sir Richard Branson appeared on the NBC Today Show on October 15, 2007, saying he had all but given up hope that explorer and friend Steve Fossett was still alive. Fossett disappeared September 3, 2007, after taking flight in Nevada on a search for sites to attempt another record-breaker. To read more about Branson’s friendship with Steve Fossett, check out the article he wrote in Time Magazine. (Time Magazine ranked Branson as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world in 2007.)
Virgin Companies
The Virgin Group is Branson’s umbrella company. Virgin has created more than 200 companies in over 30 countries—in travel and tourism, leisure, media, finance, and much more. Branson started the Virgin Group in 1970. Some of his companies include:
Virgin Megastores
Virgin Media
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Galactic
Expect to hear more about Virgin Galactic in the future, as Branson charts unfamiliar territory in the space tourism industry. Sir Richard Branson has proved that he and his company Virgin have staying power, and will continue to dominate global business and trends.
