Richard Branson

and finance. Branson was knighted by Queen Elizabeth the Second in two thousand and continues to be a prominent global figure for his philanthropy and his adventure and marketing stunts. Branson was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in two thousand and continues to be a prominent global figure for his philanthropy and his adventure and marketing stunts, such as crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon and kite surfing across the English Channel. Branson recently sat down with Carlisle

Group co founder David Rubinstein. They spoke on David Rubinstein's Bloomberg television program Peer to Peer Conversations. You've written two books, one is Losing Your Virginity and one is finding your virginity. And in those books you describe this incredible path, how you've gone from very modest meanings to this great wealth. When you started life, you were not a great um scholar as a young boy because you had a dysluxia. When did you realize you had dyslexia? And was it

a problem for you early on? Ah? In conventional schooling terms, it was a big problem. I mean I would sit at the back of the class, look at the look at the blackboard, and it was just a jumble and uh and uh and you know the the you know, I was thought of as a bit lazy, a bit thick, I mean, you know, or a mixture of the two. And if I was interested in something, and I generally excelled uh and And what I was interested in was what was going on in the world. So the Vietnamese

War was going on. There was a general sort of sixties sort of uprising of students taking place, and um, so I decided to start a magazine to campaign against the things that I thought were wrong in the world, in particular the Vietnamese. This was when you're fifteen years old, so you dropped out of school at more or less fifteen or so, you start the magazine and as part of the magazine you get interviews with from prominent people,

one of whom was Mick Jagger. Or is it hard to get an interview with Mick Jagger when you're fifteen years old? Do you know? I think in some ways if you're fifteen you have a better chance of getting interviews with people then if you're thirty or forty or fifty. And you know, I would, I would just turn up at people's houses and uh and you know doors stop them. And because I was young and and and enthusiastic, they generally took pity on me. Ultimately, you decided to start

a record company. Um, where did you get that idea from? And where did the name virgin come from? Why not branch? And we were sitting, you know, fifty sixty years old. We were sitting in the basement with a bunch of girls and we were throwing out ideas and we got down to be the slip disc records because of the black vinyls that always had scratches and slipped or virgin. And one of the girls laughed and said, well, we're

all virgins, and your virgin at business. Why don't you call it virgin and she get a finer's feed for that idea. I can't remember. If she's out of there, she can be delighted to give a one. But you know, but I mean, it's very fortunate because we've gone into so many different sectors, so many different businesses. We've been a virgin in all of these different sectors and slip

disc air lines would not have. So you start a record company and initially it's a record as a retailer, right, yeah, we started actually initially it was a male order selling records much cheaper than anybody else had done. And then so we're the first people to sell records at a discount. And then there was a mail order strike for six weeks and so we went looking for a very very cheap music store in Oxford Street. Then you start building the virgin megastores, gigantic stores, and you had a lot

of stores in UK and other places. How many did you have? At one point we had about three hundred megastores around the world, and all of all the main places like Times Square, Chanzas, Oxford Street. At the heyday of when you know, of when music was really all that young, people did before games, before mobile phones, before the other things, the younger people. The success was the virgin, name your self, promotion of it, or your shell things

cheaper than other people. What was the virgin was synonymous with music credibility, so Frank Zapper or the Rolling Stones, I mean, you know, so we had a very credible brand. And you know, one day there was a young artist came to me with fantastic tape and I took it to a number of record companies and none of them would put it out. So I thought, screw that, will

start our own record company. And and uh and uh, and we we put it out on our own record company and and it was called Jubila Bells by Mike Oldfield, and it became a great success. So you have a record retail and company and a record production company in both called Virgin. Somebody drove drew a V for you to be your logo. We decided we needed a more a slightly hipper looking label, and somebody just came came up with this very simple signature. But then you decide, well,

I need to start an airline. Um, where did the idea come from? It came from I was trying to get from Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands. I was twenty eight years old, and I had a lovely lady waiting for me. And you went to the Virgin Islands because you liked the name Virginition exactly and actually that's true. And anyway, American Airlines bumped bumped us, and I want I had been away from this lady for three weeks. So I went to the back of the airport hard

a plane. I hope my credit card wouldn't bounce, and I got a black board I wrote Virgin Airlines one ways to b B. I went to all the other people who were bumped, and I filled up my first plane and and when we landed in the b B, I the passenger next to me said, sharpen up the service a bit, and you could be in the airline business. And and I thought, okay. So the next day I rang up Boeing and said, do you have any secondhand

seven four sevens for sale? We started with one second hand seven four seven against British Airways three hundred planes and pan M and t w Aree planes. British Airways launched a dirty tricks campaign against US, which and they did everything they could to drive us out of business, and we took them to court. We won the biggest damages in British history. It was Christmas time. We gave it. We distributed to all our staff equally and so we I think that every year they hope the British Airways

will launch a dirty tricks campaign against us. People like the fact that you were against the establishment airline. And well, one time I read that new uh that the what's now called the Eye? I guess it's the big ferris wheel in London. The British air was supporting it, and they couldn't get it assemble and they couldn't actually get the thing to work. And you rented a sort of blimp.

We actually had a little blimp company just outside London, and we scrambled the blimp and we flew over the over the Eye that was still lying flat on the ground, and they're all the world's pressed there to watch this I being erected and always said was you know, be a can't get it up on the side of the airship. So how did the newspapers were able? We we got

we got we got the headlines they didn't. So it turned out pretty well and then you began building other companies and you always think that the name Virgin and your creativity could get them off the ground. Well, uh, again, the only reason we would go into a new sector is if we felt it was being badly run by other people. So the reason we went into trains was

the government were running trains. British Rail was dilapidated trains, you know, a miserable service, and we just felt, you know, we could we could go in, We could get fantastic rail stock, we could motivate the staff, and we could make a big difference. And so we took over you know, the busiest line in Britain, the West Coast main Line, and we've gone from eight million passengers to nearly forty million messengers and and you know, I think transformed the

experience for people. And you know, in every in every new sector that we've gone into, we we we've we've we've seen you know, a gaping gap in the market where the big guys have not been doing it very well and where we can come in and shake up an industry. How many companies have you started with the name Virgin? Is it a few hundred? By now it's it's an access of three hundred three hundred and everyone. Presumably it hasn't worked. A couple just couldn't have worked.

So when you start them and they don't work, you just end them after a year or so or yeah, I mean, but none of them have ever been filed for bankruptcy. We've been fortunate. We've never had a bankrupt company. And if something doesn't work out, well, you know, we'll we'll make sure that we settle all the debts and then move on to the next company. Is there something in your life you haven't achieved that you'd like to achieve.

We've spent fourteen years working on on our space program and it's been tough, and and and and spaces space is tough. It is rocket starce and uh. And you know, I think we were on the verge of finally fulfilling fulfilling that dream. And you know, before the end of the year, I hope, I hope to be you know, sitting in a Virgin galactic spaceship going to space. You've got about two hundred thousand people were maybe more now that signed up. Um, are they still they're ready to go? Well,

I mean actually signed up and and paid up. It's about eight hundred's a clash to pay up it's two hundred and fifty dollars, you know, I mean there are there's about fifty people watching this program would love to go to space, and there's about fifty who think that, you know, these people are mad? What on earth did they want to go to space? Four? But the market of people who want to go to space is gigantic, and and we hope to be able to, you know,

to satisfy quite a few of those people. Think you can make a profit on this in the end, or is it really just a lot of doing this? So I never go into a venture with the idea of making a profit. You know, if you can create the best in its field, generally speaking, you'll find that you'll pay the bills and you'll make a profit. So the way as I understand it works, it's not like a rocket goes off. You have an airplane and attached to it as another airplane, and the one that separates goes

in the outer space, is that right? The one that drops will then fire its rocket and you'll go about not to ten seconds. You'll be traveling at three thousand miles and our int into space, and then how long would you be in space under the ride that you're so the whole experience would be something like three hours. So will you be on the first flight. I'll be

on the first official flight. We've got. We've got very brave um astronauts who effectually test pilots who are uh, you know, testing the craft time and time again and and ironing out anything that can go wrong before myself and members of the public going. So I'm sure it'll be shape. But one time, when you were doing hot air ballooning, you weren't sure whether you would survive with the ballooning adventures. I was doing something that that nobody

had done before. I was trying to fly across the Atlantic or the Pacific, or go around the world in a in a balloon. I was flying at forty feet in the jet stream, you know, with one with one other person pay INSTRUANDU and uh and you know, the technology was completely unproven. There were we were the test pilots. That was more dangerous. Things could go wrong, and they did go right. And you said a number of Guinness

World Records for that. But in hindsight, do you have any regrets about taking those risks on the hot air balloon. It's interesting. You know, my son and daughter now setting themselves big adventures every year, dragging their dad along on some of them, you know. And I think as a family we feel, you know, live life, live life to it's full and and you know you can, you can, you know you can, you can. You can die in a road accident, you can dine just a normal bike ride.

And quite often when you're actually completely focused on an adventure, the it's less likely in some way that you're going to die in an adventure because you're you're you're ready and sharp and know how to deal with it. So you're very well recognized for all the things you've done around the world. Also, your hair and your gotee are probably well recognized. So did this always have you had a gotee most of your adult wife and your hair

is always this length. I've I've been a hippie ever since i was uh fifty years old and uh and and I've had a beard pretty well ever since I was fifteen sixteen years old. So I shaved it off once when we launched a company called Virgin Brides, and I put my foot a bride a bridal dress on and and and anyway gave gave people a good laugh, and we found there weren't any virgin bride, so that business didn't succeed for very long. But then, or maybe it was the fact that I didn't look the most

secy bride. So now you were a sir, you're knighted. Um did you ever expect to be a member of royalty and effect or knighted? We once put out a record called God Saved the Queen by the Sex Pistols on the Silver Jubilee, and and and then I found myself twenty five years later being knighted. And I was slightly nervous if she, if she had remembered the words on the record that that, you know, it would have been a slice, a slice of the head rather than a top on the shoulder. But she, she, she was,

she she forgave us. Anyway. This wasn't done in the Tower of London, I guess. So fortunately it wasn't done in the Tower of London. For those that may not know about Neckar Island, so I understand it. In the late nineties seventies there was an opportunity to buy an island in the British Virgin islands. Yeah, I mean, I they wanted five billion dollars for this beautiful island. I thought I could scrape together about a hundred thousands. I

offered a hundred thousand um. Nobody else, fortunately came to see the island. So yeah, later they said, if I make it a hundred and twenty thousand, we'd have an island. And I went. I went everywhere to borrow, borrow, and beg to get that hundred and twenty thousand, and and we ended up with the most beautiful island in the world. So you've built a house there, and there's also a resort.

I mean, Necker has become it is our home. It's you know, a magical place, and you know, we have fantastic get together as the people, and sometimes you know conferences there where we where we try to you know, sort of sort out the problems of the world, or just people come on holiday into you know, you had booked the whole island. Barack Obama Michelle Obama managed to

go to neckar Alon. He was good enough to invite me to the overall office for lunch about three months before he stepped down, and we had a lovely lunch. We're basically agree with each other on most most aspects of life. So I guess he was a nice house cash. Both of them and are abstutely delightful and uh, you know, and I think, you know, we we had a fun

competition and anyway, he beat me. He learned to kite and before I could foil board, and uh, and you know they yeah, I mean, it was a great privilege to spend time with them. And you've met a lot of great leaders. You've brought a lot of them together something called the Elders, which are people like Nelson Mandel and others who were great leaders in their time. You were very close to Nelson Mandela, very close. I was very lucky that for for ten years we we knew

each other very well. And you know, so we set up the Elders, which twelve incredible men and women who go into conflicts and try to resolve conflicts. Um. And if you have, you know, conflicts, I think maybe the most important thing, because if you have a conflict, everything else breaks down. What is it that makes great leadership in your view? I think being being a really good listener is one of the key things. And I think when I when I sit around, you know, listening to

the elders talk and elders meetings. UM. You know you you realize that you know why they've become elders is because you know they've spent their lifetime listening and absorbing and uh. And then you know only only speaking you know, you know, choosing their words carefully. I think, uh, loving people, I mean I think you know, a genuine love of a genuine love of everybody you know. Um. Uh and you know, looking for the best in people. I mean

even you know, even if uh there there being a pain. Um, you know, you can normally find the best in in pretty well anybody. So when you're a business and leader, If you're a business leader, somebody's watching this and wants to be Richard Branson for sure, Richard Branson. What is the key? Um, Surrounding yourself with great people, um, Learning to delegate early on, not trying to do everything yourself. Uh. You know, making sure you've got the kind of people

that are praising the team around them, not criticizing the people. Um. Uh and uh and you know, having people who are willing to um you know, to to really innovate, be bold and create something which everybody who works with the company can be really proud of now. One of the great things about your life, as you've had a terrific family life. You've been married for more than forty years. Where did you meet your wife? I met her in a recording studio called The Manner In which is the

studio we had in the UK. Was it love at first sight? Er? It was from my point, It was just that she was making a cup of tea. I looked across the room and I was absolutely smitten. And then she was with with somebody else. I had to. I had to. I'm afraid, Chase said. And my nick nickname became tag Along because a friend who worked at Virgin knew her and I would ask her if I could tag along when when she was getting out to dinner. What worked out? And you have two children who you're

very close to. I always think it's important if somebody successful can can do this while their parents are alive. And your father died a few years ago, but he lived to be a Uh, your mother is still alive. What was it like having your parents see your success and look at it was? It was wonderful to be able to share it with them, and my mom. You know that my first two hundred dollars that I've got

to start my business. My mom found a necklace and went to the police station, handed it in and nobody claimed it, and she got to managed to set it for two hundred dollars, and that was, you know, that was the critical money that help help me start and which we've managed to sort of share. You know, this wonder wonderful life that I'd be lucky enough to lead with with them and and with my mother, we still

do in the philanthropic world. What would you say is the thing you're most focused on in the philanthropic humanitarian area, were there's a little bit of a sort of serial philanthropists in the same way that you know, we just we were a serial entrepreneur, and and that I find it difficult saying no to projects that I feel are important. Did you ever think when you were growing up that you'd be wealthy enough to give away staggering some some money.

I said that certainly never dreamed that that that you know, that the incredible dream of my life would would it would have actually happened, and that uh, and that that would one day be in a position to to make you know, hopefully make a difference. So many times people who become financially successful and otherwise we're well known, they seem to be unhappy for some reason. But you seem to be a very happy person, very content. Is that a fair assessment? Um, I just think it would be.

I'd be a very sad person if I wasn't a very happy person. I mean, I've been blessed to have a absolutely lovely, lovely lady. Were complete opposites, but you know we get on great. Um, you know, blessed to have been together most of our lives, blessed to have wonderful children, wonderful grandchildren and h And every day I'm learning, you know, I mean I didn't I see life as

the one long university education I never had. I'm learning something new from you know, getting out there, listening to people, and and you know, I've scribbled everything down and and I feel like I am a perpetual student. Let me ask you a question I've asked Bill Gates. Do you think you could have been more successful in life if you had a university degree? Obviously it couldn't be more successful. And no, I I mean the age forty, I turned to my wife and said, I think I might give

everything up and go to university. And she turned to me and said, you just want to go and chat up those young ladies at the university. You go straight back to work. And it was good advice.