Richard Branson — SPARQNOW

At-a-Glance

Knighted in 2000 for "services to entrepreneurship."
Co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, an international investment group with businesses in mobile telephony, travel, financial services, and leisure.
Founded Virgin Atlantic airline and expanded Virgin Records music label in the 1980s.
Established Virgin Rail Group in 1997, which operated British rail franchises until 2019.
Founded Virgin Galactic in 2004, a space tourism company noted for the SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane.
Established Virgin Unite in 2004, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, which incubates organizations like The Elders and The Carbon War Room.
Serves on the Global Commission on Drug Policy and supports ocean conservation with the Ocean Elders.

Biography

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson, born on July 18, 1950, is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970. Starting with a youth culture magazine called "Student" at age 16, Branson quickly moved into the music industry, setting up a mail-order record business in 1970 and opening Virgin Records stores in 1972. The Virgin brand expanded rapidly throughout the 1980s with the launch of Virgin Atlantic airline and the growth of the Virgin Records music label.