Sir Richard Branson
Sir Richard’s headteacher at Stowe public school told him he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire. And while he had a few brushes with the authorities - not least a highly suspect wheeze to avoid paying customs on record exports that earned him a night in a cell - he went far further than even the sceptical head have been imagined, creating one of Britain’s feW global brands.
Britain’s best known enterpreneur was born in Blackheath and overcame the dyslexia as well as ADHD that hindered his school performance.
A mail order record business in the late 60s quickly expanded into Virgin Megastore and a hugely successful record label which led the Punk and New Romantic music waves. Then, in the 1980s, Virgin Atlantic airline took his businesses the US – before the diversifying into radio, banking, mobile, trains and gyms.
With the world conquered, Branson now has his eyes on space, with his latest ventures Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit – though the latter’s inaugural space launch in January did not quite go according to plan.
View the rich list methodology here.
