Richard Branson

Richard Branson is a British entrepreneur whose Virgin business grew from publishing and selling records. As a teenager he founded Student magazine, then developed a mail-order record business with Nik Powell in 1970. Record shops and the Virgin record label followed.

Virgin expanded beyond music into businesses including travel, telecommunications and leisure, making Branson a prominent figure in British commercial and popular culture. His early career is rooted in the overlap between independent publishing, music retail and the record industry: the magazine and record shop provided the starting points for a brand subsequently used across many different industries.