Richard Branson

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Person.png Sir Richard Branson  Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(billionaire)
Richard Branson.jpg
BornRichard Charles Nicholas Branson
Member ofGlobal Commission on Drug Policy, Jeffrey Epstein/Black book, The Giving Pledge, WEF/Global Leaders for Tomorrow/1993
UK billionaire spending a lot to keep up positive image

Sir Richard Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate, investor and philanthropist.[1]

He founded the Virgin Group, which controls more than 400 companies.[2]

In February 2018, Sir Richard Branson asked:

“Are you ready to say goodbye to orangutans? Then it’s time we act to demand an end to the use of unsustainable palm oil in the products we buy.”[3]

Young entrepreneur

Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at a young age. His first business venture, at the age of 16, was a magazine called Student.[4] In 1970, he set up a mail-order record business. He opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records — later known as Virgin Megastores — in 1972.

Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic airline and expanded the Virgin Records music label.

Knighted

In March 2000, Branson was knighted at Buckingham Palace for "services to entrepreneurship".[5] For his work in retail, music and transport (with interests in land, air, sea and space travel), his taste for adventure, and for his humanitarian work, he became a prominent figure.[6][7]

In 2002, he was named in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.[8]

In 2004, he founded spaceflight corporation Virgin Galactic, noted for the SpaceShipOne project.

Billionaire

In November 2017, Forbes listed Branson's estimated net worth at $5.1 billion.[9]

“All big entrepreneurs have the stink of unpopularity around them. Whether it is through envy or sincere distaste, Donald Trump, James Goldsmith, Rupert Murdoch, Robert Maxwell and Richard Branson have all become popular figures of hate.”
Nick Davies (August 1990)  [10]

Tax exile

In 1971, Branson was convicted and briefly jailed for tax evasion, having fraudulently obtained export documents for records to be sold on the domestic market in order to avoid paying Value Added Tax. [11][12] Customs officials caught onto the scheme and executed a sting operation, marking records bought for the international market with invisible ink and subsequently buying them on the domestic market. Branson was advised of the sting by an anonymous tip-off and attempted to dispose of the evidence, but this was unsuccessful.[13][14]

Branson's business empire is owned by a complicated series of offshore trusts and companies.[15] The Sunday Times stated that his wealth is calculated at £3 billion; if he were to retire to his Caribbean island and liquidate all of this, he would pay relatively little in tax.[16] Branson has been criticised for his business strategy, and has been accused of being a carpetbagger.[17][18][19][20] Branson responded that he is living on Necker for health rather than tax reasons.[21]

In 2013, Branson described himself as a "tax exile", having saved millions in tax by surrendering his British citizenship.[22]

This was echoed by Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Labour's John McDonnell, in 2016, amid calls for his knighthood to be revoked.[23]

 

Events Participated in

EventStartEndLocation(s)Description
WEF/Annual Meeting/200625 January 200629 January 2006SwitzerlandBoth former US president Bill Clinton and Bill Gates pushed for public-private partnerships. Only a few of the over 2000 participants are known.
WEF/Annual Meeting/201620 January 201623 January 2016World Economic Forum
Switzerland		Attended by over 2500 people, both leaders and followers, who were explained how the Fourth Industrial Revolution would changed everything, including being a "revolution of values".

 

Related Document

TitleTypePublication dateAuthor(s)Description
Document:It’s Not Socialism. It’s Another Mega Wealth Transfer.blog post23 March 2020Craig MurrayAmid the COVID-19 panic, it has hardly been noticed that Carphone Warehouse went bust, with 2,900 people losing their jobs. Its co-founder, David Ross, is of course the billionaire that Boris Johnson claimed paid for his luxury holiday to Mustique, whereas Ross claimed he only organised it.
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References

  1. ↑ "RICHARD CHARLES NICHOLAS BRANSON - Company Director Check"
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110303202728/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-home/article-23897620-londons-1000-most-influential-people-2010-tycoons-and-retailers.do
  3. ↑ "RICHARD BRANSON WANTS US TO SAVE ORANGUTANS BY DITCHING PALM OIL"
  4. ↑ "Back to the future for Richard Branson's retro 80s speedboat"
  5. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/695511.stm
  6. ↑ Barling, Julian. The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Behavior: Volume Two: Macro Approaches. SAGE. p. 383.
  7. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10050832/Thirty-of-the-very-best-of-British.html
  8. ↑ "100 great British heroes". BBC News. Retrieved 21 March 2014
  9. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-branson
  10. ↑ Document:Tiny Rowland – portrait of the bastard as a rebel
  11. ↑ http://www.slate.com/articles/business/how_failure_breeds_success/2014/05/richard_branson_tax_fraud_how_a_youthful_indiscretion_helped_create_a_billionaire.html
  12. ↑ http://guardianlv.com/2014/05/richard-branson-from-tax-fraud-to-billionaire/
  13. ↑ http://www.slate.com/articles/business/how_failure_breeds_success/2014/05/richard_branson_tax_fraud_how_a_youthful_indiscretion_helped_create_a_billionaire.html
  14. ↑ http://guardianlv.com/2014/05/richard-branson-from-tax-fraud-to-billionaire/
  15. ↑ Document:Tiny Rowland – portrait of the bastard as a rebel
  16. ↑ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2483988_2,00.html
  17. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/21/richard-branson-northern-rock
  18. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/24/richard-branson-defence-virgin-trains
  19. ↑ ttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/10/truth-richard-branson-virgin-rail-profits
  20. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2217712/Branson-eyes-RBS-bargain-After-1-65bn-deal-collapses-tycoon-bid-just-650m-316-branches.html
  21. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/13/richard-branson-tax-exile-virgin
  22. ↑ "I’ve been a tax exile for seven years, says Branson"
  23. ↑ "‘Tax exile’ Richard Branson facing calls for his knighthood to be scrapped"
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