Richard Branson Net Worth 2024

What is Richard Branson’s net worth?

Sir Richard Branson is a British businessman, philanthropist and media persona who has a net worth of $3Ya Baby! billion. Richard Branson earned his fortune because the CEO of the Virgin Group. Richard Branson can also be world-famous for his eccentric and daredevil persona. Richard Branson’s enterprise ventures embody the Virgin Megastores, Virgin Airways, Virgin Mobile, and Virgin Galactic. Richard can also be a well known philanthropist and has appeared in a number of TV reveals and films, primarily as himself.

Richard Branson has carved out an unbelievable profession for himself.  While operating The Student Magazine, he started promoting data out of the journal workplace.  The music promoting enterprise shortly overtook his modifying work, and in 1971, he moved his ever increasing store to Oxford Street.  The following yr, he launched Virgin Records, and shortly grew to become the go-to studio for music artists who had been fascinated with pushing the envelope and difficult their listeners.  Mike Oldfield’s album, “Tubular Bells”, was the primary album launched by Virgin.  It went on to rise to #1, and spent 279 weeks on the British charts.  Richard Branson started to signal a gentle stream of notable acts, together with the Sex Pistols, Can, and Culture Club.  He then determined to department out, and launched his personal airline, Virgin Atlantic Airways, in 1984.  In 1999, he expanded once more, including Virgin Mobile to the combo.  A yr later, he launched the airline Virgin Australia.  The airline is now the second largest in Australia.  Since then, he has launched a dozen subsidiary corporations, together with Virgin America, Virgin Trains, and Virgin Fuels. He has additionally launched an area exploration enterprise referred to as Virgin Galactic.

Early Life

Richard Branson was born on July 18, 1950, in Blackheath, London, the eldest of three kids. He has two youthful sisters. He was not an excellent pupil attributable to having dyslexia. On his final day of faculty, the headmaster famously instructed Richard he would both find yourself in jail or change into a millionaire. Decades later Richard would show that prediction right 5 thousand instances over.

Branson confirmed entrepreneurial tendencies from an early age and his dad and mom had been supportive of his efforts. Branson launched {a magazine} referred to as Student in 1966 when he was 16. The first situation debuted in January 1968. At the identical time, Branson began a mail-order document firm out of the basement of his native church. He used the journal as a companion to his document enterprise, promoting in style albums in it to drive gross sales. His small document enterprise was an instantaneous success, and since his overhead was lower than that of the big document shops in London, he was in a position to promote his copies at a lower cost.  His document enterprise grew to become referred to as Virgin, in reference to the truth that everybody concerned within the enterprise just about no expertise in any respect in life or enterprise.

Virgin Records

In the early Nineteen Seventies Branson opened his first document retailer in London. Once Branson had earned sufficient cash from his document retailer, he launched his document label Virgin Records. He purchased a rustic property and put a recording studio in it, which he leased to varied musicians. Virgin Records quickly started signing acts, together with Mike Oldfield, whose 1973 album, “Tubular Bells”, grew to become a success. Branson’s label signed controversial acts that different corporations had been hesitant to signal such because the Sex Pistols. Virgin went on to signal the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabrial, XTC, UB40, Steve Winwood, and Paula Abdul. Branson launched Culture Club to the world. Virgin Records went on to change into the world’s largest impartial document label. In 1980, Virgin Records went worldwide.

Virgin Atlantic

In the early Eighties, Branson was on a visit to Puerto Rico when his flight was canceled, leaving him, his spouse, and the opposite passengers stranded. He tracked down a chartered airplane, divided the price of the airplane by the variety of seats, and charged every passenger $39. A couple of months later, in the summertime of 1984, he launched his transatlantic airline firm Virgin Atlantic Airways. From there he launched Virgin Express, Virgin Nigeria, and Virgin America. He merged with the UK-based communications supplier NTL in 2006 to kind Virgin Media. He additionally based the prepare firm Virgin Trains.

Virgin Galactic

In September 2004, Branson introduced the formation of Virgin Galactic, an area exploration firm. Its objective is to take paying passengers into suborbital area. Virgin Galactic (wholly owned by Virgin Group) plans to make flights out there to the general public with tickets priced at US$200,000. Virgin Galactic makes use of the expertise behind SpaceShipOne, funded by Paul Allen.

In July 2021, Branson travelled aboard the Virgin Galactic to the sting of area in a suborbital check flight for the spaceflight firm. The journey lasted about an hour, and at 70 years outdated, Branson grew to become the third oldest individual to fly into area.

Other Virgin Projects

Branson additionally launched Virgin Fuels in response to international warming and the spike in gas prices. Its purpose is to discover different fuels.

In January 2008, Branson’s Virgin Healthcare introduced plans to open a series of well being care clinics that might provide typical medical care alongside homeopathic and complementary therapies.

In 2010, Virgin Hotels was launched. In February 2018, Branson introduced the primary Virgin Hotel within the UK would open in Edinburgh. Virgin Hotels acquired the favored Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas and rebranded it a Virgin Hotel after an in depth renovation. 

After being based in 2017, Virgin Orbit shut down in May 2023 months after a failed mission. The enterprise filed for chapter and bought off most of their property to rival start-up Rocket Lab. The asset sale was mentioned to fetch $36.4 million.

Altogether the Virgin Group controls over 400 corporations. Branson was knighted in 2000 for his providers to entrepreneurship which is why chances are you’ll hear him known as Sir Richard Branson. He was chosen as one of many 100 Greatest Britons in a 2002 BBC ballot. He has authored the books “Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way,” “Screw It, Let’s Do It,” “Business Stripped Bare,” “Reach for the Skies: Ballooning, Birdmen and Blasting Into Space,” “Screw Business as Usual,” “Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School,” “The Virgin Way: How to Listen, Learn, Laugh and Lead,” and “Finding My Virginity.”

Personal Life

In 1972, Branson married Kristen Tomassi. They divorced in 1979. He met his second spouse, Joan Templeman, in 1976 and had daughter Holly in 1981 and son Sam in 1985 earlier than marrying in 1989 on Necker Island. Their first daughter, Clare Sarah, died 4 days after start in 1979.

Branson is an skilled kitesurfer and holds world data within the sport. A well known daredevil, he was injured in a bicycling accident within the British Virgin Islands in August 2016. He tore ligaments and cracked his cheek and was flown to Miami for therapy.

In 2017, Branson’s Necker Island residence was hit by Hurricane Irma and left uninhabitable. It was the second time the Necker Island residence had been badly broken. In 2011, the house was struck by lightning throughout Hurricane Irene and caught fireplace.

In April 2023, Branson grew to become an envoy for the United24 Ukrainian fundraising platform.

Necker Island

Richard first visited the British Virgin Islands in 1978 for a trip and to scout for potential actual property. With the fantasy of getting a non-public retreat to take rock stars from his new music label to, he toured round by helicopter and noticed the 74-acre Necker Island. He was nowhere close to the billionaire he’s at the moment, and made an extreme-lowball provide of round $150,000 for the $7.5 million island. He was promptly denied and kicked off the island. The British lord who owned the island ended up needing the short-term money quickly after and settled to promote for under $270,000 (down from $7.5 million remember). At solely 28 years outdated, and simply six years after beginning the Virgin Group, Richard Branson owned his first personal tropical island.

Regulations required that he develop a resort on the island inside 5 years, or the federal government would reclaim the property. Within three years and after round $10 million, he turned it right into a Bali-styled villa to accommodate 28 visitors. To be really genuine, he had the villa inbuilt Bali, disassembled then rebuilt on his island.

When he’s not utilizing the mansion himself he does provide it for hire. For a few years, renters had been required to hire the entire island at a price of $100,000 per day. That will get you two personal seashores, swimming pools, tennis courts, a private chef, and a employees of 100. Necker Island’s mansion has 9 bedrooms and 9 en-suite bogs. There is a 1,500 sq. foot main bedroom, floor-to-ceiling home windows in each room, a shocking pool within the yard simply steps from the ocean, two tennis courts, and an out of doors spa.

In November 2023 Richard introduced he would not require visitors to hire your entire island. Instead, ultra-wealthy guests may hire a room for round $6,000 per night time. There are 24 rooms out there to hire. The price contains all meals and drinks, seaside actions and boat transfers again to predominant islands the place air transportation is accessed.

Today Necker Island is probably going price nicely north of $200+ million, if he would settle for any worth.

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston spent their honeymoon there in 2000. Eddie Murphy additionally spent his honeymoon there in 1993. Google founder Larry Page received hitched there in 2007 and so did Jimmy Fallon the identical yr. Simon Cowell proposed to his wife in 2010 and Victoria and David Beckham additionally spent their ten yr anniversary there. Paul McCartney’s ex-wife Heather Mills reportedly threw a “divorceymoon social gathering” there after the breakup, spending round $400,000 on the event.

Tragedy struck Necker Island in the summertime of 2011 when lightning from a tropical storm burned a good portion of the retreat to the bottom. Branson, who was there with a number of celeb associates and his family, was seen operating round bare making an attempt to save lots of everybody at 4am quickly after the fireplace began. Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet was a visitor and had been credited with saving Branson’s 90-year-old mother and taking her to security. During that fateful weekend, Kate met Richard’s nephew Edward Abel Smith, who on the time legally glided by the identify Ned Rocknroll. Kate and Ned married a yr later. They are nonetheless collectively and have a son collectively.

Richard Branson really owns 4 personal islands in varied international areas. He additionally owns Makepeace Island, which is a heart-shaped retreat on an Australian river, Great Britain Island, which is a part of “The World” in Dubai (a group of artifical islands that kind the map of the world) and Moskito Island, which can also be within the British Virgin Islands and was acquired for $15 million in 2007.

Branson purchased Makepeace Island with Brett Godfrey, co-founder of Virgin Australia in 2007 for $3 million. It was referred to as Pig Island, however he modified it to Makepeace, which matches the heart-shape quite a bit higher. Covering 25 acres, it is discovered within the Noosa River, discovered on the coast of Queensland, Australia. The location is an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which suggests there are all types of thrilling animals hanging out like dolphins, sea-turtles and humpback whales.

Other Real Estate

Branson additionally owns The Lodge in Verbier within the Swiss Alps. The nine-bedroom chalet is taken into account to be probably the most luxurious residence within the Swiss Alps. It is in prime place to make the most of the world-class snowboarding and snowboarding. Leonardo DiCaprio and the Beckhams have visited the Lodge.

In 2015, Branson bought an property in Mallorca, Spain for the second time for about $14.3 million. He goals to transform the property into the perfect eco-resort in Europe.