Born Richard Charles Nicholas Branson 18 July 1950 (1950-07-18) (age 60) Blackheath, London,England, United Kingdom
Nationality British
Entrepreneur since1966 Chairman of Virgin Group
Net worth  $4 billion
Title Sir Spouse Kristen Tomassi (m. 1972–1979) «start: (1972-07-22)–end+1: (1980)»"Marriage: Kristen Tomassi to Richard Branson" Location: (linkback:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Branson) (divorced) Lady Joan Templeman (m. 1989–present) «start: (1989-12-20)»"Marriage: Lady Joan Templeman to Richard Branson" Location: (linkback:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Branson) Children 3
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Richard Branson founded the Virgin group in 1970. He owns the Virgin record shops, the Virgin Atlantic airways and has recently started Virgin radio. He is Britain’s most famous entrepreneur.
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British entrepreneur, best known for his Virgin Group of over 400[2] companies.
His first successful business venture was a magazine called Student at age 16.[3] In 1970, he set up an audio record mail-order business. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores. Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s—as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways and expanded the Virgin Records music label. Richard Branson is the 212th richest person in the world according to Forbes' 2010 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of approximately £2.97 billion (US$4.0billion).[4]
Branson was born in Blackheath, London, the son of barrister Edward James Branson and Eve Branson.[5] His grandfather, the Right Honourable Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson, was a judge of the High Court of Justice and a Privy Councillor.[6] Branson was educated at Scaitcliffe School (now Bishopsgate School)[7] until the age of thirteen. He then attended Stowe School until the age of sixteen. Branson has dyslexia and had poor academic performance as a student, but later discovered his ability to connect with others. Branson is the eldest of four siblings. He has two sisters, Lindi and Vanessa Branson. His brother, Ted, followed in their father's footsteps and became a barrister. Branson's poor academic records contrasted with excellent performance in sports, especially swimming. With Lady Joan Templeman he has two children, Holly (b. 1981) and Sam (b. 1985). He revealed in an interview with Piers Morgan that he and wife Joan had a daughter named Clare Sarah who died when she was just four days old in 1979.[9] The couple wed—at their daughter Holly's suggestion when she was eight years old—in 1989 at Necker Island, a 74-acre (30 ha) island in the British Virgin Islands that Branson owns.[10] He also owns land on the Caribbean Islands of Antigua and Barbuda. Holly Branson is now a doctor and is a keen supporter of the football (soccer) team Oxford United. In 1998, Branson released his autobiography, titled Losing My Virginity, an international bestseller. Branson was deeply saddened by the disappearance of fellow adventurer Steve Fossett in September 2007; and, the following month, he wrote an article for Time magazine, titled "My Friend, Steve Fossett".[13]
Branson has stated in a number of interviews that he derives much influence from non-fiction books. He most commonly names Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, explaining that Mandela is "one of the most inspiring men I have ever met and had the honour to call my friend." Owing to his interest in humanitarian and ecological issues, Branson also lists Al Gore's best-selling book, An Inconvenient Truth and The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock amongst his favourites. According to Branson's own book, Screw It, Let's do It. Lessons in Life, he is also a huge fan of works by Jung Chang.
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