1200px richard branson march 2015 (cropped)

Richard Branson Timeline

By hg5

  • Birth of Richard Branson

    Birth of Richard Branson
    On this day Richard Branson was born to Edward James and Eve Branson in London, England.

  • Branson Drops Out

    Branson Drops Out
    At the age of 16, Branson dropped out of the Stowe School, located in Buckinghamshire. His headmaster tells him that he will end up either in prison or as a millionaire.

  • First Issue of the Student Magazine

    First Issue of the Student Magazine
    Branson's Student magazine, co-founded with Nik Powell, releases its first issue in January.

  • Branson Reaches £50,000

    Branson Reaches £50,000
    In only a year of running the Student magazine, Branson's net worth is estimated to reach £50,000 (~$62,000), the equivalent of about £668,000 (~$829,000) today.

  • Music Man Branson

    Music Man Branson
    Branson opens a record shop on Oxford Street, London, one of the busiest shopping areas in all of Europe.

  • Founding of Virgin

    Founding of Virgin
    Branson, Powell, Simon Draper, and Tom Newman found Virgin Records. They would sign many famous artists and groups like The Rolling Stones, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Genesis, and more.

  • Branson's Net Worth hits £5,000,000

    Branson's Net Worth hits £5,000,000
    Branson is estimated to have reached a net worth of £5,000,000 ($6,200,000) in 1979, which is approximately £22,660,000 ($28,090,000) today.

  • Virgin Records goes International

    Virgin Records goes International
    For the first time, Virgin Records expands beyond the UK into the international stage.

  • Creation of Virgin Atlantic

    Creation of Virgin Atlantic
    Branson launches his transatlantic airline, Virgin Atlantic.

  • Virgin Records enters the United States

    Virgin Records enters the United States
    Although Virgin Records went international in 1980, it wasn't until 1987 that they reached the US market.

  • Branson sells Virgin Records

    Branson sells Virgin Records
    In order to keep Virgin Atlantic from going under, Branson is forced to sell Virgin Records to EMI.

  • Branson creates Virgin Galactic

    Branson creates Virgin Galactic
    Branson founded his space tourism company Virgin Galactic in 2004. However, it wasn't until February 2022 that ticket sales are opened up to the public.

  • Virgin Racing

    Virgin Racing
    Branson announced that Virgin would sponsor the Brawn GP Formula One team. In each of their two years of existence, Virgin finished in last place.

  • Rich-shark Branson

    Rich-shark Branson
    Branson appeared on the hit US TV show Shark Tank as a guest investor in their October season premiere episode.

  • Branson goes to Space

    Branson goes to Space
    Branson becomes the first billionaire in space when he took a Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo rocket to the edge of space.