Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson, born 18 July 1950 is an English businessman and investor. He is best known as the founder of Virgin Group, which comprises more than 400 companies.

At the age of sixteen his first business venture was a magazine called Student. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores. Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airlines and expanded the Virgin Records music label.

In July 2015, Forbes listed Branson's estimated net worth at US $5 billion