Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson-Entrepreneur
Richard Branson was born in Surrey, England, on July 18, 1950.
His father was a barrister and his mother was a flight attendant.
He had a traditional family but struggled through school. He had dyslexia.
He went to Scaitcliffe school until the age of 13 and when he was 15 at Stowe school, he dropped out..
When he was 16, he started a magazine called The Student from the crypt of a church.
He advertised popular records in the paper and traded under the name of “Virgin”. He had a record mail-order business and was able to sell records at a discount, through the magazine. In the first edition he sold $5,000.00 worth of advertising and was able to use that money to open a record shop in London, in 1971. At the record shop he sold popular records at a discount. The money that he earned from the record store, was enough for him to start his own record label, “Virgin Records” in 1972. The Sex Pistols was one of the bands that he got started with his record label. He sold the record company in 1992, to save his other company “Virgin Atlantic” because, British Airways was trying to put his airline out of business.
He now has 360+ companies under the name “Virgin” and “ Virgin Galactica”, will be the first commercial spacecraft company. For $200,000.00, you can book a trip to space for 2 ½ hours. There are already 500 tickets sold.
Richard Branson has not only developed hundreds of companies, but is interested in preserving the environment. His grandfather was Sir Peter Issac, who started the World Wildlife Fund. Richard has pledged to donate 3 billion dollars, or all the profits from his travel companies, over the next ten years, to combat global warming.
He also organized the Virgin Earth Challenge to give a prize of 25 million dollars to anyone that designs something that removes harmful effects of greenhouse gases for at least 10 years.
Richard Branson is also known for setting records like being the first one to cross the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in a hot air balloon.
He has also received an honorary Doctorate degree in Technology from Loughborugh University. He was knighted in 2000.
Richard Branson’s accomplishments are too many to list here, but he has probably influenced our American society, the most by inspiring us to reach for very high goals.
He has even said himself that he sets his sights on things that seem unachievable and then rises above it. He has inspired me by showing me that no goal is too high to achieve, if you are willing to put the time and work into what it takes to do it.
A good example of how Richard Branson Harnessed his vision, is how he started his record business. He wanted people to buy records at a discount and he was able to make that happen by advertising in his magazine. He Underestimated the roadblocks by not realizing that he would be criticized for selling records at a discount, and have to fight for the right to do it. His ability to Network, was a very important reason why he could start over 360 companies. Taking that first step at age 16, in the crypt of a church, began a
mega-empire for Richard Branson, beyond, I think, even his wildest dreams.
Works Cited
4. www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/243-richard-branson
