Richard Branson Autograph Request Address, Fan Mail Address Contact and More

Richard Branson, full name Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born July 18, 1950, in Shamley Green, Surrey, England), is a British entrepreneur and adventurer most known for his publicity stunts and records in powerboat racing and hot-air ballooning.

Branson, a high school dropout, launched his first successful commercial venture with the magazine Student as a teenager. When the magazine began to lose money in the late 1960s, Branson raised finances by establishing Virgin Mail Order Records (so named because Branson regarded himself inexperienced in business), and in 1971 he built the first cheap record store in the United Kingdom. In 1973, he co-founded Virgin Records, which swiftly became the world’s leading punk and new wave label. He acquired a majority stake in the airline he renamed Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984. Virgin Atlantic began with a single aircraft and succeeded against severe opposition from major airlines, and Branson sold Virgin Records in 1992 to acquire further funds for the company.

By the 1990s, the Virgin conglomerate had grown to be one of the largest privately-held corporations in the United Kingdom, with around 100 subsidiaries, including Virgin Megastores. Branson sold Virgin Mobile, a wireless phone service, in 2006, though he retained the company’s majority ownership. Virgin Media, Inc. was then renamed Virgin Media, Inc. That same year, he co-founded Virgin Comics LLC and Virgin Animation Private Limited.

Branson was a member of a two-man team that achieved an Atlantic Ocean powerboat crossing record in 1986. He and Swedish aeronaut Per Lindstrand became the first team to cross the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon in 1987, and the first to cross the Pacific Ocean in 1991, in hot-air ballooning. Branson was also a member of teams that attempted three failed round-the-world balloon flights in the late 1990s.

On their third attempt, in December 1998, they were joined by American explorer Steve Fossett, and together they flew 8,200 miles (13,200 kilometers) across Asia, becoming the first to accomplish it in a hot-air balloon, before being forced to land off the coast of Hawaii. Branson then aided in funding Fossett’s 2005 record-breaking journey, during which he accomplished the first nonstop solo round of the globe in an airplane. Branson successfully completed a suborbital trip aboard a Virgin Galactic spacecraft in 2021.

Among Branson’s numerous humanitarian endeavors, he pledged an estimated $3 billion in 2006 to fund research into environmentally friendly fuels. Branson was named Citizen of the Year by the United Nations Correspondents Association in 2007 for his unwavering support of humanitarian and environmental concerns (UNCA). He wrote an autobiography, Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way (1998), and expanded on his business philosophy in The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership (2011). (2014). Branson received a knighthood in 1999.

Richard Branson, fully-fledged Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born on 18 July 1950), a British entrepreneur and adventurer, Virgin Group Ltd, noted for his advertising stunts and records of racing and hot-air ballooning on boats.

In 1986 Branson was part of a crew of two men who recorded a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by powerboat. He and Swedish aircraft operator Per Lindstrand were the first teams to cross the Atlantic on a hot air balloon in 1987 and the first to cross the Pacific Ocean in 1991. Branson was also a member of teams that made three failed efforts at global balloon flights in the late 1990s.

On the 3rd attempt in December 1998, the couple was joined by American explorer Steve Fossett, who went around 8,200 miles (13,200 km), becoming the first to fly in hot air ball across Asia until they were driven off Hawaii. Branson then helped sponsor Fossett’s flying record established in 2005, completing the first solo non-stop worldwide airplane circumnavigation. In 2021, Branson flew in a Virgin Galactic spacecraft suborbitally.

Branson’s many humanitarian activities included committing an estimated $3 billion to finance ecologically friendly fuel research in 2006. In 2007 Branson earned the Citizen of the Year Award from the United Nations Correspondents Association, in honor of his continued support for humanitarian and environmental issues (UNCA). He authored an autobiography, Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way (1988, updated ed. 2011). In The Virgin Way: All I Know About Leadership he spoke of his business philosophy (2014). In 1999, Branson was knighted.

Balloons, an unpowered balloon flight, a pastime that became popular in the 1960s. Plastic, nylon or polyethylene balloons are utilized and they are filled with hydrogen, helium, methane, or hot air.

Ballooning started in 1783 with the flight in France of the ballons of the Montgolfier brothers, although the first usage was scientific and military. In 1906 sports globing started earnestly when American publisher James Gordon Bennett provided an international trophy for yearly long-distance flights that Belgians won permanently with triumphs in 1922–24. The award was then offered by Belgium until 1939. The sport, like international yachting, was initially a rich man’s hobby.

Branson, who had dropped out of school, joined his first successful company as a teenager with Student magazine. In the late 1960s, when the magazine started losing money, he established Virgin Mail Order Records (so named as a businessman because Branson thought himself unskilled) to collect finances, opening the first discount record store for British companies in 1971. In 1973 he helped to create Virgin Records, which soon became the world’s leading label for new waves and punks. In 1984, he was named Virgin Atlantic Airways, the biggest contributor of the airline. In 1992 Branson had sold Virgin Records to acquire additional money for Virgin Atlantic amid significant opposition from established carriers.

By the 1990s, Virgin, one of the UK’s largest private holdings, encompassed approximately 100 firms, including Virgin Megastores. In 2004 Branson created the space tourist firm Virgin Galactic, which was working on commercial passenger suborbital flights. In 2006 Branson sold Virgin Mobile, which was later renamed Virgin Media, Inc., to a wireless provider, but he remained the biggest stakeholder of the company. In 1986 Branson was part of a crew of two men who recorded a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by powerboat.

He and Swedish aircraft operator Per Lindstrand were the first teams to cross the Atlantic on a hot air balloon in 1987 and the first to cross the Pacific Ocean in 1991. Branson was also a member of teams that made three failed efforts at global balloon flights in the late 1990s. On the 3rd attempt in December 1998, the couple was joined by American explorer Steve Fossett, who went around 8,200 miles (13,200 km), becoming the first to fly in hot air ball across Asia until they were driven off Hawaii.

Branson then helped sponsor Fossett’s flying record established in 2005, completing the first solo non-stop worldwide airplane circumnavigation. In 2021, Branson flew in a Virgin Galactic spacecraft suborbitally. That same year he created Virgin Comics LLC and Virgin Animation Private Limited, a collaborative entertainment company.