Richard Branson

Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born on 18 July 1950 in Blackheath, London, the son of Edward James Branson (1918–2011), a barrister, and his wife, Evette Huntley Branson (née Flindt; 1924–2021), a ballet dancer and air hostess. He has two younger sisters, Lindy and Vanessa. His paternal grandfather, Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson, was a judge of the High Court of Justice and a Privy Councillor.

Branson's great-great-great-grandfather John Edward Branson left England for India in 1793; John Edward's father, Harry Wilkins Branson, later joined his son in Madras. Starting from 1793, four generations of Branson's family lived in India, mostly at Cuddalore, in modern-day Tamil Nadu. On the television series Finding Your Roots Branson was shown to have 3.9% South Asian (Indian) DNA, likely through intermarriage. He later said that one of his great-great-great-grandmothers was an Indian named Ariya.

Branson was educated at Scaitcliffe School, a preparatory school in Surrey, before briefly attending Cliff View House School in Sussex. He attended Stowe School, a public school in Buckinghamshire until the age of sixteen.

Branson has dyslexia, and had poor academic performance; on his last day at school, his headmaster, Robert Drayson, told him he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire. Branson has also talked openly about having ADHD. Branson's parents were supportive of his endeavours from an early age. His mother was an entrepreneur; one of her most successful ventures was building and selling wooden tissue boxes and wastepaper bins. In London, he started off squatting from 1967 to 1968.

Early business career

After failed attempts to grow and sell both Christmas trees and budgerigars, Branson launched a magazine named Student in 1966 with Nik Powell. The first issue of Student appeared in January 1968, and a year later, Branson's net worth was estimated at £50,000 (equivalent to £730,000 in 2025). The office for the venture was situated in the crypt of St John's Church, off Bayswater Road, in London. Though not initially as successful as he hoped, the magazine later became a vital component of the mail-order record business Branson started from the same church he used for Student. Branson used the magazine to advertise popular albums, driving his record sales. He interviewed several prominent personalities of the late 1960s for the magazine including Mick Jagger and R. D. Laing. Branson took over full direction of Student after successfully lying to Powell that the workers at the magazine opposed Powell's plans to turn the magazine into a co-operative.

His business sold records for considerably less than the "High Street" outlets, especially the chain WHSmith. Branson once said, "There is no point in starting your own business unless you do it out of a sense of frustration." At the time many products were sold under restrictive marketing agreements that limited discounting, despite efforts in the 1950s and 1960s to limit retail price maintenance.

Branson eventually started a record shop in Oxford Street in London. In 1971 he was questioned in connection with the selling of records declared export stock. The matter was never brought before a court because Branson agreed to repay any unpaid purchase tax of 33% and a £70,000 fine. His parents re-mortgaged the family home to help to pay the settlement.

In 1972, Branson married Kristen Tomassi. In 1974, they went to Cozumel and hired a deep-sea boat. Two miles out, "We stripped off to our underwear and the fisherman gave us a plank of wood from the bottom of the boat" and swam to shore. In 1979, they divorced. They had no children together.

In 1976, Branson met Joan Templeman and later began a relationship with her. Three children were born before their marriage on Necker Island in 1989; a daughter, who lived for four days, another daughter, and a son. On 25 November 2025, Branson announced Joan's death at the age of 80 on Instagram, stating he was "heartbroken".

Branson was friends with child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and was revealed in January 2026 to have emailed Epstein in 2013 that he "would love to see you. As long as you bring your harem!" It was also revealed that Branson had given PR advice to Epstein to publicly downplay his conviction of soliciting a minor for prostitution by telling Epstein that "I think if Bill Gates was willing to say that you’ve been a brilliant adviser to him, that you slipped up many years ago by sleeping with a 17½-year-old woman … and have done nothing that's against the law since, and yes, as a single man you seem to have a penchant for women. But there's nothing wrong with that."

In November 2017, Antonia Jenae, a backing singer for Joss Stone, alleged that Branson sexually assaulted her at Necker Island by "putting his head between her cleavage and making boat engine noises", a practice that is known as motorboating. A spokesperson for Branson confirmed to The Sun that members of the band had been invited for a party on the island in 2010, but that he and friends and family in attendance had "no recollection" of the events and that "there would never have been any intention to offend or make anyone feel uncomfortable. Richard apologises if anyone felt that way."

Branson is an experienced kitesurfer, and has set two world records in the sport. The first was as the oldest person to kitesurf across the English Channel. Then in 2014, he broke the Guinness World Record for most people riding a surfboard by kiting with three women attached to him, including the professional kiteboarder Susi Mai and the entrepreneur Alison Di Spaltro. Also an avid cyclist, in August 2016, he was injured while riding his bicycle in the British Virgin Islands, resulting in torn ligaments and a cracked cheek.

In 2017, Branson's Necker Island home was left uninhabitable after Hurricane Irma. It was the second time it had been severely damaged, after the building caught fire when it was struck by lightning caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011. Branson's mother, Eve, died of COVID-19 complications in January 2021 at the age of 96. Branson posted an online celebration of her life.

In 2007, Branson was ordained as a minister by the Universal Life Church Monastery to conduct an on-flight wedding as part of a marketing effort for domestic flights in the US on Virgin America airline. From 2013 to 2017, he served as president of the Old Stoic Society of Stowe School.

Branson has said in a number of interviews that he has been much influenced by non-fiction books. He most commonly mentions Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, stating that Mandela was "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 among his favourites. According to Branson's book, Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life, he is also a fan of Jung Chang's Wild Swans and Antony Beevor's Stalingrad. In fiction, Branson has long admired Peter Pan, and in 2006 he founded Virgin Comics LLC, stating that Virgin Comics will give "a whole generation of young, creative thinkers a voice".

Branson is an atheist. He said in an interview in 2011 with Piers Morgan that evolution is a demonstrable fact and he believes in the importance of humanitarian efforts, not in the existence of God: "I would love to believe", he said. "It's very comforting to believe".

2008–2019: Hotels, healthcare and charitable influence

On 9 January 2008, Virgin Healthcare announced that it would open a chain of health care clinics that would offer conventional medical care alongside homeopathic and complementary therapies, a development that was welcomed by Ben Bradshaw, the health minister.

Plans where GPs could be paid for referring National Health Service (NHS) patients to private Virgin services were abandoned in June 2008. The BMA warned the plan would "damage clinical objectivity", there would be a financial incentive for GPs to push patients toward the Virgin services at the centre. Plans to take over an NHS practice in Swindon were abandoned in late September 2008.

In February 2009, Branson's Virgin organisation was reported as bidding to buy the former Honda Formula One team. Branson later expressed interest in Formula One, but claimed that, before the Virgin brand became involved with Honda or any other team, Formula One would have to develop a more economically efficient and environmentally responsible image. At the start of the 2009 Formula One season on 28 March, it was announced that Virgin would be sponsoring the new Brawn GP team, with discussions also under way about introducing a less "dirty" fuel in the medium term. After the end of the season and the subsequent purchase of Brawn GP by Mercedes-Benz, Branson invested in an 80 per cent buyout of Manor Grand Prix, with the team being renamed Virgin Racing.

In 2010, Virgin Hotels was launched under the Virgin Group. In February 2018, Branson announced the first Virgin hotel in the UK would open in Edinburgh.

In 2010, Branson became patron of the UK's Gordon Bennett 2010 gas balloon race, which has 16 hydrogen balloons flying across Europe.

In April 2012, Virgin Care commenced a five-year contract for provision of a range of health services which had previously been under the aegis of NHS Surrey, the local primary care trust. By March 2015 Virgin Care was in charge of more than 230 services nationwide.

In July 2012, Branson announced plans to build an orbital space launch system, designated LauncherOne.

In August 2012, when re-tendered the InterCity West Coast franchise was awarded to FirstGroup after a competitive tender process overseen by the Department for Transport. Branson had expressed his concerns about the tender process and questioned the validity of the business plan submitted by FirstGroup. When Virgin Rail lost the contract, Branson said he was convinced the civil servants had "got their maths wrong". In October, after an investigation into the bidding process, the deal was scrapped. The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, announced there were "significant technical flaws" in the process and mistakes had been made by transport staff. Virgin Rail continued to operate the West Coast line until 7 December 2019, when it was replaced by Avanti West Coast.

In March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast commenced operating the InterCity East Coast franchise; the company was a joint venture between Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin Group (10%). Due to the line performing below VTEC's expectations, it was announced in May 2018 that the contract would be terminated early by the government. VTEC ceased operating on 23 June 2018 and operations passed to a government-owned operator, London North Eastern Railway.

In 2017, Virgin Group invested in Hyperloop One, developing a strategic partnership between the two. Branson joined the board of directors, and in December 2017 became its chairman. The announced winner of the 2017 Virgin StartUp's Foodpreneur prize was The Snaffling Pig Co, which won a six-week rental space at Intu Lakeside, the retail centre with the highest foot traffic in the United Kingdom.

In October 2017, Branson appeared on the Season 9 Premiere of Shark Tank as a guest investor, where he invested in Locker Board, a sustainable line of skateboards invented by an 11-year-old named Carson Kropfl. Branson told him that he reminded him of himself. Branson became the wealthiest Shark to have appeared on the show.

In April 2018, Branson announced the acquisition of the Las Vegas-based Hard Rock Casino-Hotel with plans to re-brand the property under his Virgin Hotels business. Virgin Hotels Las Vegas opened on 25 March 2021.

In May 2018, it was announced that he would become a partner in a private equity fund that will be co-managed by Metric Capital. The fund was to seek out consumer goods firms to invest in.

In February 2019, Branson helped to organise an international benefit concert, Venezuela Aid Live, to bring worldwide attention to the humanitarian crisis and raise funds for humanitarian aid. The concert took place on 22 February in Cúcuta, Colombia, on the Venezuelan border. On 16 October 2018, Branson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame under the category of recording for co-founding Virgin Records. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce placed his star at 6764 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

In October 2019, Branson inaugurated Virgin's new route between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, calling Israel a land of "great entrepreneurs doing incredible things." Upon landing in Israel, he was photographed kissing the ground—a gesture traditionally performed by visitors arriving in the Holy Land.

In the 1980s, Branson was briefly given the post of "litter Tsar" by Margaret Thatcher—charged with "keeping Britain tidy". During the BBC coverage of the 1997 general election, Branson was interviewed at the Labour Party celebrations at the Royal Festival Hall. In 2005 he declared that there were only negligible differences between the two main parties on economic matters. He was suggested as a candidate for Mayor of London before the first 2000 mayoral election, with polls indicating he would be a viable candidate, but he did not express interest.

In March 2015, Branson said that almost all drug use should be decriminalised in the UK, following the example of Portugal.

Branson supported continuing British membership of the European Union and was opposed to the 2016 referendum. On 28 June 2016, interviewed for ITV's Good Morning Britain, he said his company had lost a third of its value as a result of the referendum result and that a planned venture, employing more than 3,000 people, which he had announced before the referendum, had been shelved. He gave his backing for a second referendum. Branson endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election.

Branson openly criticised the Philippine drug war marred by allegations of extrajudicial killings. In September 2016, he, along with the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and the former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, wrote a letter to the then Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, calling on his government to halt the killings and develop evidence-based policies to address the Philippines' drug situation.

Branson is an opponent of the death penalty, stating: "the death penalty is always cruel, barbaric and inhumane. It has no place in the world." In 2015 Branson released a letter in support of the American prisoner Richard Glossip on the day he was due to be executed, and in 2021 was among the public figures who called on Singapore to halt the execution of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, a Malaysian drug trafficker who was convicted and sentenced to Singapore's death row for heroin trafficking. After Nagaenthran was executed by hanging at Changi Prison, Branson expressed disappointment in Singapore for its "relentless machinery of death" since it left "no room for decency, dignity, compassion, or mercy". In October 2022 the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs invited Branson to Singapore for a live televised debate on Singapore's approach towards drugs and the death penalty with K. Shanmugam, Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law. Branson rejected the offer. In 2023, Branson once again spoke up against Singapore's stance of capital punishment when he protested against the upcoming execution of Tangaraju Suppiah, a 46-year-old Singaporean who was found guilty of trafficking 1 kg of cannabis and scheduled to hang on 26 April 2023, and Branson claimed that Tangaraju was "innocent" of the crime of which he was convicted. Before the execution of Saridewi Djamani on 28 July 2023, Branson also appealed for mercy on Saridewi's behalf.