Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is one of the world’s most famous rich people. For decades, he has been in the business world and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his service to business in 2006.
He is also known as an adventurer, environmentalist, and philanthropist. Despite a very close incident that could have taken him to the afterlife, he is strong and continuously making money.
But, have you heard about the man before? Virgin Group might ring a bell, but if it doesn’t, this biography will discuss everything you need to know about this wealthy entrepreneur and how he became so successful!
Who Is Richard Branson?
When the all-mighty Queen Elizabeth II knights someone, you should always introduce that person with the proper title.
However, in the case of Branson, you might be more familiar with who he is if we keep it simple as Richard Branson.
This man is an English magnate born on July 18, 1950, in Blackheath, London. His mother was Eve Branson, a former ballet dancer, and air hostess, while his father Edward Jones Branson was a barrister.
Being the eldest son of the couple and with two sisters, he was never a good student due to his dyslexia.
Branson was an early adopter of entrepreneurship, and his parents supported his efforts.
In 1966, Branson was 16 years old when he launched Student magazine, and in January 1968, the first issue was published.
He also started a mail-order records company from the basement of his church. The magazine was used by Branson as a companion to his record company, promoting popular albums to increase sales.
His small business was a success, and his overhead was lower than the big record shops in London. He was able to sell his copies at a lower cost.
Virgin was the name of his record company because all of the participants had virtually no business or life experience.
A Business Life to Envy
From here, we will have a long journey with this billionaire since you would be impressed by how much he has achieved and made possible over the years.
Branson opened his first London record store in the 1970s, and after he made enough money from his record shop, he started Virgin Records.
He purchased a country estate and built a recording studio there to lease it to musicians. Not too long after, Virgin Records signed musicians, including Mike Oldfield’s 1973 album “Tubular Bells.”
Branson’s label signed acts that were controversial, which other companies weren’t able to sign, like the Sex Pistols.
He is known for being adventurous regarding who he decided and continues to decide to sign despite others people’s opinions, and this is probably why he has been able to bring up so many hits attributed to this records’ company. After all, Virgin signed the Rolling Stones’ Peter Gabrial, XTC and UB40, Steve Winwood and Paula Abdul.
Branson introduced Culture Club to the rest of the world, and soon after, Virgin Records became the largest independent record label in the world and international in 1980.
Now, this is when his music business started and exploded, but what about the other companies owned by Virgin Group nowadays? Well, they do have a fun story.
Branson, his wife, and other passengers were on a trip from the United States to Puerto Rico in the 1980s when Branson’s flight was canceled.
He found a chartered plane and divided the cost by the number of passengers to make sure everyone could leave despite the issue with the flight; based on his calculations, he ended up charging $39 for each passenger.
He launched Virgin Atlantic Airways, his transatlantic airline, just a few months later of the previous incident. Virgin Express, Virgin Nigeria, and Virgin America from there.
In 2006, he merged with NTL, a UK-based communications provider, to create Virgin Media, and then he founded Virgin Trains, a train company.
Going two years earlier, in September 2004, Richard announced Virgin Galactic’s formation.
This company is a space exploration company, and its mission is to transport paying passengers into suborbital and orbital space.
Branson also created Virgin Fuels in response to the rise in fuel prices and global warming in order to find alternative fuels.
By 2008, Branson’s Virgin Healthcare was announced and designed to offer both conventional and homeopathic treatments.
Moving on to 2010, Virgin Hotels were launched in 2010 and have expanded to several hotels in the USA and UK, including London and Las Vegas.
To this date, the Virgin Group has control over 400 companies, and it is one of the largest business groups globally.
Finally, we couldn’t leave you without the information behind his “Sir,” which only focuses on Branson being knighted for his contributions to entrepreneurship in 2000.
How Much Does Richard Branson Earn?
It is pretty hard to take your time to analyze all the money that someone with so many companies earns.
But the real question you must be asking is if all that work is worth it in the end. The short answer is.
Richard Branson has been earning morning since he started in business with his record shop (for those wanting to do the same, keep going).
Many believed he wouldn’t make that much money or maybe, just become a millionaire in the process.
Well, being a millionaire is quite a lot for us already, and we wish we would have that sum of money. However, Branson exceeds everyone’s expectations and ideas when they discover that he is actually a billionaire.
According to Forbes, Brandon has $4.8 billion as net worth, and it is all thanks to his conglomerate of business, Virgin Group.
There aren’t many details of how much each of the company’s franchises makes in the end. However, the entire group has approximately 80,000 employees.
It is also hard to follow Brandon’s ideas with the group, considering how he recently invested in the cruise business with Virgin Voyages. There aren’t records about this either.
Now, Branson’s fortune has been seeing some ups and downs recently. In 2018, he had a $5 billion net worth, then dropped to $4.1 billion in 2019 and $3.4 billion in 2020 before standing at $4.8 billion at the moment.
Impact & Influence: More Than Businesses
Although they have the money, not all entrepreneurs decide to invest it in something that really makes a difference. Instead, they’re too busy making sure their fortune just increases.
Of course, this mindset isn’t wrong, but with so much money, why not invest it in other things and not only businesses?
Richard Branson understands this, and he has made sure to have an impact on social problems.
Among his achievements, he helped launch The Elders, a top global group with leaders that focus on addressing critical problems worldwide.
He started the Carbon War Room in 2009 to reduce global carbon emissions through market-based and entrepreneurial solutions.
Then, in 2013, Richard, along with Jochen Zeitz, founded the B Team. This platform focuses on new ways to do business that are good for the planet and benefit the people.
With all the companies and businesses he has started over the years, Sir Brandon is quite known by entrepreneurs but also by many around the world.
He has let people know that everyone can make money and be a billionaire as long as they put effort, have an idea, and learn how to make it possible.
An Example to Become Rich
Let’s face it, we all want to be rich. Maybe not because of self-interest but instead to help others and make a difference with that money.
Or maybe because we’re tired of trying to meet deadlines and focus on paying for essential services. Everything is valid, and we won’t judge nor say something about your reasons.
We know that Richard is an excellent example if you are truly aiming to make money, but keep in mind that not everyone starts in the same way.
To begin with, do you have a business idea? If you do, what is it, and do you think it is profitable? If not, what about focusing on what seems popular but with a twist?
The truth is that regardless of your answer, we want to let you know: you really have to consider the business and opportunity before investing money and time into it.
Although Branson encourages everyone to make money, it is clearly not simple. You can’t just copy an idea when it comes to businesses unless you have a genius difference that can put you at the top.
In our case, we decided that it is better to start with something that isn’t even half-bad, which led us (eventually) to renting websites.
If you haven’t heard about it, this business model consists of building websites for small businesses or companies.
The goal is to work with organic traffic to bring leads, which are basically the clients for the company.
Since many companies require an online presence but lack the knowledge to build a website, manage it, and make sure leads and generated, they leave all the work to professionals. This is when you enter.
You handle the process, and once you start generating leads for your clients, you charge a percentage PER lead. In the end, you will have each website working simultaneously and generating passive income for you.
But Does It Really Work?
If the question is more a, “is this a scam?” it is safe to say that it isn’t at all.
Renting websites is simple when you learn the basics about building sites, generating the leads, and bringing your clients to make sure they hire your services.
You will have to work hard to make money and guarantee this business model works for you, but a few months of hard work will be worth years.
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