Richard Branson's Success Story

Founder of Virgin Group

“Everyone needs something to aim for. You can call it a challenge, or you can call it a goal. It is what makes us human. It was challenges that took us from being cavemen to reaching for the stars.”, Richard Branson

Have you ever heard the name Richard Branson? He is most famous for being Founder of the Virgin Group of companies, which cover a multitude of different businesses that are difficult to put under one class. The Virgin Group is probably the only enterprise that handles so many different types of industries under one brand. According to the list of billionaires, listed by Forbes in 2009, Richard is the world’s 261st richest person. His net worth is estimated at a Ј2.6 billion (US $3.9 billion).

Born as Richard Charles Nicholas Branson on 18 July 1950, he shares the date of his birth with Nelson Mandela, the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. When asked to describe him in a few words, Richard answered that Nelson is “one of the most inspiring men he has ever met and had the honor to call his friend”.

When Richard was only 16 years old, he was already publishing a magazine called Student, which marked the beginning of his successful business ventures. On the age of 20, he started a mail order business selling audio records. Two years later, his chain of record stores opened its doors under the name Virgin Records that was later changed to Virgin Megastores. A couple of years later Richard Branson expanded his music label and went international.

When he was about 35, his business success soared with the addition of Virgin Atlantic Airways. Virgin Group was by this time generating record labels, running various retail outlets, broadcasting radio programs, telecasting television programs through satellite and distributing film and video productions.

In the course of the next years, Richard entered a wide range of new businesses – the start of Virgin Publishing, Virgin Cola, Virgin Vodka, Virgin Cosmetics and a few other companies was given.

In 1996, the brand launched its website Virgin.net. The turn of the century saw the launch of Virgin Cars. Four years later, the company started shooting higher with the addition of Virgin Galactic, a space tourism initiative. Branson’s businesses have had their share of controversies and set backs as well, but what we can surely state is that the sheer volume of businesses under the Virgin Group is truly amazing.

In conclusion, we would just like to mention some of Richard Branson’s most inspiring quotes:

- “Fantasizing about the future is one of my favourite pastimes.”
- “A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.”
- “I have enjoyed life a lot more by saying yes than by saying no.”