Richard Branson
Founder, Virgin Group. On 2 shows, 2 appearances. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
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Richard Branson founded the multinational conglomerate Virgin Group in 1970, launching ventures including Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Galactic. He is also a bestselling author and commercial astronaut who flew aboard Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity in 2021.
2shows
2appearances
15statements
13resolved
8supported
2contradicted
62%fully supported
21said about them ↓ Everything Richard Branson said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Branson: If you can run one business, you can run any business
“If you can run one business, you can run any business.”
Branson: Virgin won the largest damages payout in UK history against British Airways
“And in the end, we took them to court. We won the biggest damages in UK history, and it was Christmas time.”
Branson asserts the 2014 SpaceShipTwo crash was pilot error, not technical
“Once we realized it was a pilot area, not a technical area, I was able to tell all the engineers that it was nothing to do with them and that the basic craft was sound”
Branson: Virgin Is Looking at Challenging Eurostar Through Channel Tunnel
“So, you know, for instance, we're just looking at maybe taking on Eurostar through the channel tunnel.”
Branson physically threw out a bank manager threatening to close Virgin
“I find the bank manager sitting on my doorstep, and stupidly I invited him into the house, and he tells me that he's gonna close the whole Virgin Group down on the Monday, and I don't normally get angry, but I just literally stood up and pushed him out of my h…”
Virgin started as the first mail-order business to discount music records
“Nobody had ever sold music at a cheaper price than the normal retail price and it was the start of Virgin.”
Branson sold Virgin Records for $1 billion to fund Virgin Atlantic
“In order to keep all the jobs protected at Virgin Records and at the airline, I needed to sell something, and so, very sadly, we sold Virgin Records. We got a billion dollars for it, so it would make sure that we kept BA honest.”
Branson: Hide in the restroom after meetings to note personal details
“So, I mean, if you're going to a big chain of retail shops and you have a chat with the, you know, with the head of the retail is worth Going to the loo afterwards and just taking a note of some of the things the person said, because it's so good to be able to…”
Branson commits to stocking Lone Wolf Granola at Virgin Hotel Nashville
“So we have a hotel in Nashville. Why don't we, why, why don't we just stock a little bit for a while and see, you know, see whether our customers like it and I'd be delighted to do that. So I'll get somebody to be in touch and we'll get some in that hotel.”
Branson avoided a 35% tax by faking record exports until caught
“If you export records, you don't have to pay the 35% tax. So, nautily, we sold them in England, and anyway, I got caught and a number of other record shops are doing the same thing. We got a rap on our back of our hand, and it has taught me in life that sleepi…”
Branson founded Virgin Records because seven labels rejected Mike Oldfield's demo
“We didn't have a record company, so I took it to seven record companies, nobody would put it out, and so I thought, screw it, let's do it, let's, let's start our own record company.”
Branson admits holding onto Virgin Megastores too long cost substantial money
“You know, so cutting your losses reasonably early on is a good idea. I haven't always been good at that. I mean, for instance, Virgin Megastores, we clung on far too long and cost us a lot of money.”
Virgin Group operates roughly two hundred companies worldwide
“There's a couple of hundred companies around the world.”
Branson's Student Magazine achieved circulation of over 100,000 copies per issue
“It had a circulation, which is quite big in England, of over a 100,000 copies in issue.”
Branson opened Virgin's first record store after a postal strike threatened mail-order
“We only opened a record shop when the post office went on strike for two months, and our mail order company then looked in peril, so we then went above a shoe shop in Oxford Street and found an empty space and threw some records and pillows on the floor and he…”
The other half of the tape: Richard Branson's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 19 times in 14 episodes across the shows. 2 statements on the record name them. every mention, with the transcript →
Who brings them up most Guy Raz 10David Neeleman 4Tom Rinks 2Nuseir Yassin 2Tim Ferriss 1
Statements about Richard Branson, by other people (2)
Tom Rinks: Richard Branson made Sun Bum the exclusive sunscreen on Necker Island
“Richard Branson and Joan. The end of the first year, they saw it and bought it for, to be their exclusive sunscreen on Necker Island.”
Every mention by year
tap a year for its mentions
How I Built This 19
2026 4 mentions in 4 episodes 1 per episode
- Square: Jim McKelvey. He Lost a $2,000 Sale, Then Built a $10 Billion Company
- Netflix: Reed Hastings. “We’re Not a Family.” The Provocative Idea That Helped Build a Streaming Giant
- HOKA: Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas Mermoud. The “Clown Shoe” That Became a $2B Bonanza
- Gymboree: Joan Barnes. How Building a Beloved Brand Nearly Destroyed Its Founder
- every mention in 2026, scene by scene →
2025 2 mentions in 2 episodes 1 per episode
2024 1 mention in 1 episode
2023 3 mentions in 2 episodes 2 per episode
2021 3 mentions in 2 episodes 2 per episode
2020 1 mention in 1 episode
2019 5 mentions in 2 episodes 3 per episode
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Richard's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOW I BUILT THISLEDGER | Founder, Virgin Group | 2 | 15 | 78% 7/9 | full record on How I Built This → |
 MASTERS OF SCALELEDGER | Founder, Virgin Group | 0 | 0 | 25% 1/4 | full record on Masters of Scale → |