Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields.
Branson’s Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he started Virgin Atlantic Airlines and expanded the Virgin Records music label.
In 2004, he founded the spaceflight corporation Virgin Galactic, based at Mojave Air and Space Port in California, noted for the SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane designed for space tourism.
In 2007, he was placed in the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list. In July 2021, Forbes listed Branson’s estimated net worth at US$5.7 billion.
On 11 July 2021, Branson travelled as a passenger onboard Virgin Galactic Unity 22 at the edge of space, a suborbital test flight for his spaceflight company Virgin Galactic. At 70, Branson became the third oldest person to fly to space.
Richard Branson Parents: Meet Eve Branson And Edward James Branson
Richard Branson is the son of Edward James Branson and Eve Branson. His father Edward James Branson was a barrister and soldier.
His mother Eve Branson first served in the women’s royal naval services and then worked with the Entertainments National Service Association as a Ballet Dancer.
As a young adult, she served in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRENS) during World War II. After the war ended, she toured West Germany as a ballet dancer with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA).
She later became an airline hostess for British South American Airways. After marrying, Branson ran a real estate property business and was a military police officer and probation officer. She also wrote novels and children’s books.
Branson established the Eve Branson Foundation and served as its director. Branson was a member of the board of directors of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (“ICMEC”), the goal of which is to help find missing children, and to stop the exploitation of children.
She was a founding member of ICMEC’s board of directors in 1999, seeking to generate awareness of the centre’s work, and her son Richard was ICMEC’s founding sponsor.