Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Brands
Posted on May 18, 2008
Filed Under Guest Columnist | 1 Comment
Hiya. My name is Janelle Baril. I’m a busy Canadian girl with a love for books, comics, movies and television shows. I enjoy reading, writing, and drawing. I enjoy my contributions at www.indiantvtoday.com since it happens to be a very favourite site for me. My favourite TV shows are House, CSI and Pushing Daisies. I like good movies as well like Harry Potter series and 300. You can catch more of me at http://ishakbible.devianta
When I was asked to write a little tidbit on Sir Richard Branson, I pulled a great big “Huh?” moment. As a Canadian house-hermit, I didn’t have the first idea as to who he is and what he had to do with Virgin Mobile or Virgin Atlantic Airways. And thus, the internet search begins.
First, we start of with an introduction to the flamboyant business tycoon. Nearing 60 years of age, Sir Richard Branson’s net worth is £4.4 billion ($7.9 billion US). In 1999, the Labour Party (UK) government knighted Branson for services to entrepreneurship. He is most famous for his “Virgin” brand businesses, the most popular of which being Virgin Mobile and Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Virgin Mobile is a brand of mobile phones which are used by several cell phone providers in several different countries including the United States, India and Canada. This business was launched in 1999 and then sold in 2006 to NTL/NTL: Telewest for a whopping £1 billion! And don’t forget the minimum of £8.5 million Branson gets from them yearly to let them continue using the “Virgin” name after the company was released again in 2007 with the name Virgin Media.
Virgin Atlantic Airways was launched in 1984 and is a British airline owned both by Sir Richard Branson and Singapore Airlines. The airline’s major bases are located primary in London, and flies all over between (to name a few) North America, Asia, Africa and Australia as well as many other places.
Aside from being a business whiz, Branson is also a humanitarian who funds a group called “The Elders”. The group was founded in 2007 and their main purpose is to solve difficult conflicts on a global scale.
We can’t forget to take a look at the world records he’s broken too! In 1986, Branson made his 2nd attempt at the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and shattered the record with 2 hours to spare. 1991 saw him crossing from Japan to Northern Canada in a hot-air balloon – breaking the record with recording speeds of up to 245 mph!
A “Gibbs Aquada” is an amphibious vehicle. Don’t know what that means? Let me explain, its really quite simple and I had no idea they even existed. I promise you the following is true: Its a car you can drive on land, and on water. Its not a boat with wheels, and its not a car that floats. Its a high speed vehicle designed to work on land and in water! And in 2004, Branson drove one of these babies for 1:40:06, setting the record for the fastest crossing of the English Channel… in an amphibious vehicle, blowing the previous 6 hour record to smitherings!
I do hope this had shed some light on the great man that is Sir Richard Branson: a knighted business man and humanitarian with an interest in breaking world records.
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[...] A to Z wrote an interesting post today on Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin BrandsHere’s a quick excerpt…airline owned both by Sir Richard Branson and Singapore Airlines. The airline’s major bases… [...]