Richard Branson: Life at 30,000 feet

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English entrepreneur, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies.

Branson’s first successful business venture was at age 15, when he published a magazine called Student. He then set up a record mail-order business in 1970. In 1971, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores and re-branded as zavvi in late 2007.

With his flamboyant and competitive style, Branson’s Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s – as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways and expanded the Virgin Records music label.

Today, his net worth is estimated at over £4 billion (US$7.8 billion) according to The Sunday Times Rich List 2006, or US$3.8 billion according to Forbes magazine.

When Richard Branson was at school, his headmaster predicted he would wind up either a millionaire or in jail. Since then, he done both. Here he talks to TED’s Chris Anderson about the ups and the downs of his career, from his multibillionaire success to his multiple near-death experiences, from Virgin’s line of spacecraft to the failure of the Virgin condom. He also reveals some of his (very surprising) motivations.