Richard Branson

Born 18 July 1950 · English entrepreneur · co-founder of the Virgin Group

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, building it from a mail-order record business into an airline, rail, telecoms and spaceflight conglomerate. He is also an unusually prolific blogger: for years he posted short, plain-spoken pieces on Virgin.com, which is where this line first appeared. The post is a philanthropy piece rather than a business one — it runs through Virgin Unite, the Carbon War Room, The Elders and the Giving Pledge he and his wife Joan had signed.

Traced to source

1 quote we’ve traced

“If you let money pile up, it starts to stink. But if you spread it around then it can do a lot of good”

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On the research bench

Commonly pinned on Richard Branson — under review

5 lines flagged as pinned on Richard Branson and queued for a full source trace — not yet verified.

“I believe in a benevolent dictatorship - as long as I am the benevolent dictator.”

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“I never get the accountants in before I start up a business. It's done on gut feeling, especially if I can see that they are taking the mickey out of the consumer.”

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“If you want to be a Millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.”

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“What's the quickest way to become a millionaire? Borrow fivers off everyone you meet.”

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“With the casino and the beds, our passengers will have at least two ways to get lucky on one of our flights.”

Disputed

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