What's this? This is an unbiased just-the-facts news timeline ('newsline') about Richard Branson, created by Newslines contributors. Become a contributor

Richard Branson

Richard Branson99 posts

Richard Branson is an English businessman. He founded Virgin Records, which grew into the Virgin Group. He is currently working on Virgin Galactic, a space tourism business.

Latest News view > Click for Biography view
10 Jan, 2018

McGregor vs Branson face off

Other Awards0 Comments

McGregor receives a lifetime achievement award at the Pendulum Summit in Dublin, from the annual business summit group that attracts rich corporate leaders from across Europe. When McGregor goes to the stage to be given the award by Branson, they both take off their shirts and face off. McGregor:

He is not a knighted Sir on this soil.

1 Feb, 2017

Obamas lunch with Branson

0 Comments

The former President and First Lady have lunch with Branson and his family on the island of Anegada. Barack wears a black Nike polo shirt and shorts and a baseball cap. Michelle wears her hair in braids underneath a sun hat which she pairs with a white beach dress.

2 Nov, 2015

Announces SS2 testing

Announcement0 Comments

Virgin 2Branson says the second SpaceShipTwo will be ready to start testing by February 2016. SpaceShipTwo is designed to bring six passengers up to suborbital space before bringing them back down to Earth. All the building and testing of the suborbital craft is all being done in-house at Virgin Galactic, a handover that was in the works before the 2014 accident. CEO Whitesides:

I think we are in a much better place than we might have expected in the period immediately after (last year’s) accident, and that’s because our team came together, our customers stuck with us, and honestly, we believe that the vehicle itself is sound.

While Branson is not giving a firm date for the inaugural flight of SpaceShipTwo — with himself and his family among the passengers — he believes the company is on the right track.

We’ll be unveiling the new spaceship and then we go into flight tests. That’s one thing I’m never going to be in a hurry on. We just have to see how it goes.

10 Dec, 2014

Women’s Wear Daily interview

Interview0 Comments

Branson discusses the first Virgin Hotel, set to open in Chicago on January 15, in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily.

We had been looking at a number of properties for our first location but what truly excited us about Chicago were the friendly people and also the building. The Old Dearborn Bank really captured our attention with its 1920s architecture, and gave us the challenge to restore many of its existing features and give it a second life. Not too long ago, I got to see the interior, and the juxtaposition between old and new is fantastic.

4 Dec, 2014

Starts Virgin Cruises

0 Comments

Virgin Group announces it is starting Virgin Cruises as a ‘hip and cool’ alternative to Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line. Richard Branson statement:

We plan to shake up the cruise industry and deliver a holiday that customers will absolutely love. They’ll be sailing on the latest ships offering great quality, a real sense of fun, and many exciting activities all delivered with the famed Virgin service.

12 Nov, 2014

Dispels Led Zeppelin rumor

0 Comments

Branson disputes the story first reported by The Daily Mirror that he offered an 800 million contract to the members of Led Zeppelin to do a reunion tour.

As much as I love the band, there is absolutely no truth to the story

3 Nov, 2014

Will take Virgin Galactic’s first flight

0 Comments

Branson tells CNN Money that he will still be on Virgin Galactic’s first flight to take tourists into space, even after the crash of SpaceShip Two during a test flight.

There is no way I would ask others to go on a Virgin Galactic flight if I didn’t feel it was safe enough for myself.

1 Nov, 2014

Statement

0 Comments

Branson says he is “determined to find out what went wrong” and learn from the tragedy.

This is obviously a very tough time for everybody who works at Virgin Galactic, who works at The Spaceship Company, and who works for Scaled Composites. And most importantly our thoughts remain with the families of the brave Scaled pilots and all those who have been affected by this tragedy. We are determined to find out what went wrong and are working with the authorities to get that information. It is too early for me to add any details of the investigation at this stage. We’ve always known that commercial space travel in an incredibly hard project. We’ve be undertaking a comprehensive testing program for many years and safety has always been our number one priority. This is the biggest test program ever carried out in commercial aviation history, precisely to ensure that this never happens to the public.

Branson: Determined to find out what went wrong

SpaceShipTwo crashes, one dead, one injured

5 Comments

Virgin Galactic reports a test flight of SpaceShipTwo, launched a 9:19am by its partner Scaled Composites, led to the “loss of the vehicle” after a “serious anomaly”.

Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft explode in flight. Doug Messier, a blogger who runs the website Parabolic Arc, which reports on space news,  witnesses the crash from Jawbone Station, which is on a ridge overlooking the desert where the craft crashed.

We saw the twin contrails of WhiteKnightTwo overhead. They do that prior to a drop. SpaceShipTwo dropped. From what I could tell, motor fired and then stopped then fired again. I think that’s what happened. [It appeared that SpaceShipTwo] broke apart and started coming down in pieces over the desert. We started seeing clouds of dirt where pieces of the ship came down. One after another. At least three. Debris from the ship was scattered all over the road.

The WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, which carries the SpaceShipTwo, lands safely.

A California Highway Patrol spokesperson said two people were found near the crash in the desert north of California City and east of Mojave. One of the individuals had parachuted out of the aircraft, and another was located near the scene as well. The FAA:

Just after 10 a.m. PDT today, ground controllers at the Mojave Spaceport lost contact with SpaceShipTwo, an experimental space flight vehicle. The incident occurred over the Mojave Desert shortly after the space flight vehicle separated from WhiteKnightTwo, the vehicle that carried it aloft. Two crew members were on board SpaceShipTwo at the time of the incident. WhiteKnightTwo remained airborne after the incident. The FAA is investigating.

Flight to test new rocket fuel

0 Comments

richard-branson-spaceship-2SpaceShipTwo is scheduled to test a new plastic-based rocket fuel for the first time, in its first powered flight in nine months. Engineers were switching out the previous engine, which burned rubber-based fuel. Scaled Composites is reported to have previously experienced problems with the rocket on the ground. The new motor is intended to push SpaceShip Two five times higher than it had ever flown before—to the edge of space 62 miles above the Earth. Maximum speed iss expected to reach about 2,500 miles an hour during its ascent.

30 Sep, 2014

Richard Branson Picking Up Women

0 Comments

richard-branson-picking-up-women-amy-williamsThe Tumblr blog Richard Branson Picking Up Women features Branson holding Dita von Teese, Amy Williams, Sarah Harding, Kate Moss and other women.

29 Sep, 2014

Plans $3.25 billion Virgin Money listing

0 Comments

Branson is expected to announce plans this week to list Virgin Money in London. The deal is expected to be worth £2 billion pounds ($3.25 billion) overall and will add several hundred million pounds to Branson’s net worth. The Virgin Group owns 47% of the company and U.S. investor Wilbur Ross owns the remainder.

26 Sep, 2014

Fly anywhere in the world in 30 minutes

0 Comments

Branson tells CNN that Galactic’s spaceship technology can be used for rapid air travel:

We’re building spaceships and we’ll initially be sending them into space. And then in time we’ll be manufacturing spaceships that go tremendous speeds and we’ll be transporting people around the world in spaceships at speeds that make Concorde look quite slow … ‘Fast’, if we can pull it off, is 18-and-a-half thousand miles an hour, which means that anywhere in the world you want to go, you get there in half an hour.

25 Sep, 2014

Unlimited vacation time

0 Comments

Branson gives his personal staff unlimited vacation time. The policy applies to around 170 staff in the Virgin head offices in the UK and U.S., and may be introduced for the 50,000 employees of Virgin Group if it is successful. The idea starts when his daughter Holly sends him an article about a similar policy at Netflix. Branson:

It is left to the employee alone to decide if and when he or she feels like taking a few hours, a day, a week or a month off, the assumption being that they are only going to do it when they feel a hundred per cent comfortable that they and their team are up to date on every project and that their absence will not in any way damage the business – or, for that matter, their careers!

19 Sep, 2014

WSJ interview

Interview0 Comments

Branson is interviewed for the Wall Street Journal and says that most of his disruptive efforts are in philanthropy:

On the pure business side, we’re going to try to get people who would never dream of going on a cruise ship to go on Virgin Cruises. That’s something we’re just starting to build.

The technology he is most excited about:

The small satellites we’re developing, which will be quite transformative in the world. Through a big array of these satellites, billions of people who don’t have mobile-phone access will be able to get it very cheaply. It’ll give them Wi-Fi access, which means they’ll be able to get an education and health information. If a plane disappears, we’ll be able to know exactly where it is. If there’s an illegal fishing boat, we’ll be able to pinpoint it.

Expecting grandchildren

0 Comments

Branson expects to become a grandparent twice in 2015:

Being a grandparent is going to be a lot of fun. Both Holly and Sam’s wife are having children in 2015, so I’m looking forward to spoiling them and seeing my family’s happiness increase.

‘Change starts today’

0 Comments

Branson says that despite the No vote for independence, the referendum will create significant change for Scotland:

This referendum has not only been a driver of change for Scotland, but also for the entire political landscape of the UK.

As well as the promise of increased powers for Holyrood, it has strengthened the debate over devolution throughout the UK, including the so-called West Lothian question over whether Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish members of parliament can vote on matters that only affect England:

Radical devolution of powers is the way forward for the UK.

Westminster must deliver:

The Scottish people should be proud of the turnout of this referendum. It was a great example of democracy. Now Parliament must deliver on devolving more powers to Scotland and the rest of the UK.

18 Sep, 2014

Branson: Devolve more powers

0 Comments

Branson says Scotland can have the best of both worlds by staying in the UK:

By voting to stay together, Scotland can gain more devolution, combined with the security, strength and prosperity of being a valued part of the UK.

The UK can learn from Virgin‘s structure:

We have more than 100 companies that work independently, with a lot of power to make their own decisions, but remain under the Virgin umbrella. This gives them lots of freedom, while also providing the security and strength of the Virgin brand.

If Scotland chooses to stay together, the powers the Scottish parliament gain could be an example for devolution elsewhere in the UK:

In the coming decades I believe more power should be devolved regionally, and to big cities like Manchester, London, Liverpool, Cardiff and Birmingham. Smaller teams focusing upon local issues can achieve more, provided they have the support being a part of the UK provides.