Richard Branson
July 18, 2012On this date in 1950, Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born in London. In the early 1970s, the budding entrepreneur ran a record store in London. In 1972, Branson and Nik Powell founded Virgin Records. The company signed numerous future hit bands and grew into a leading label in the music industry. Among his many subsequent business enterprises, Branson founded Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984, Virgin Trains in 1993, Virgin Mobile in 1999 and Virgin Australia in 2000. Branson is well-known as a generous philanthropist, backing groups that address global warming, economic development in impoverished regions, education of underserved populations and global peace. Branson was knighted in 2000 for “services to entrepreneurship.” In 2007, he was awarded the United Nations Correspondents Association Citizen of the World Award for his humanitarian work. In his autobiography, Losing My Virginity (1998), Branson wrote: “I do not believe in God, but as I sat there in the damaged [balloon] capsule, hopelessly vulnerable to the slightest shift in weather or mechanical fault, I could not believe my eyes. . . .” (p. 239). Branson is married (since 1989) to Joan Templeman. They have two living children and they had one daughter who died several days after birth.
“I see myself as a humanitarian. Maybe someday someone will be able to convince me that there is a god and that there is a particular god, but to me, I love people and that’s the most important thing. . . . I do believe evolution is likely to be the truth. . . . and evolution is magnificent. . . .”
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