Founder of Virgin on Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy and Sustainability
North America
United Kingdom
Sir Richard Branson is Britain’s best known entrepreneur, As founder and Chairman of Virgin Group, Richard is a pioneer in more many fields of business.
Branson showed signs of great entrepreneurship at a very young age. When he was only 16 years old, he delved into journalism and started his very own magazine called Student. He has since authored several best-selling business books. Today, based on Forbes studies, Richard Branson is known as the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom with an estimated net worth of US$4.2 billion.
Richard took his passion for business seriously and forayed deeper to build a chain of music stores called Virgin Records in 1972. The who’s who in the song industry considers Richard Branson a name to be revered. Before long, he, too, would top that very list and become one of UK’s wealthiest.
He would stress that fun has become his guiding principle and lives up to the attitude by taking part in various sporting adventures. The journey to success can actually be enjoyable! Richard also explored the travel industry and set up Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984, the now famous airline company. Building a towering empire from scratch, Richard forged on to have more than 400 diverse companies under the Virgin Group.
Richard may have had his share of ups and downs, but no one can deny the fact that he has rightfully earned all his success. He copes with being dyslexic and has learned to excel more by connecting with people he meets. He supports a string of charitable foundations worldwide and teamed up with the equally iconic Nelson Mandela to form The Elders, an organization that promotes peace building, alleviates human suffering and upholds human interest. Branson is also the founder of Carbon War Room, a group that addresses global climate change.
As a conference speaker, Richard Branson reaches out to others in a manner that has truly made him the man he is today – a motivator, an inspiration, and a catalyst for world change.
“Sir Richard spoke about many interests; he is inspiring not only in the field of entrepreneurship, but also as a visionary risk-taker.”