Entrepreneur, Founder of Virgin

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is a British entrepreneur known for establishing the Virgin brand, attracting the media with his marketing approach and for his balloon and boat adventures.

Born on July 18, 1950, the world-renown businessman made his company delve into various sectors such as airlines, credit cards, and even music. To this day, he continues to seek new business opportunities and to challenge himself in engaging in markets dominated by top players.

Richard Branson’s entrepreneurial efforts started when he was a student magazine publisher at the age of 16. Although choosing not to go to graduate school, in 1970, he built the now famous Virgin brand from what used to be a discount records mail order business (Virgin Megastores) that he and friend Nik Powell worked on. Gradually, Virgin became bigger and better, delving into various businesses and branding them as Virgin Books, V2 Music, Virgin Records, Virgin Credit Card, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Galactic.

Richard Branson is passionate about his company as he is zealous about life. In fact, since the mid 80s, he has been taking on world record breaking attempts by hot air balloon and boat just to get his adrenaline rush going. At each event that he attempts to break a record, the Virgin logo is always displayed, making it a good source for free advertising for his company.

He was knighted in 1999 and was named Sir Richard Branson for his remarkable contribution to the world of entrepreneurship.