Driven by an insatiable appetite for adventure, Sir Richard Branson has made billions defying the odds. Now the visionary entrepreneur is setting out to conquer the greatest frontier of all.
Richard Branson has lived his life according to a simple motto: Screw it, let’s do it (his words). Since leaving school at the age of 16 to start his first business, the founder of the Virgin Group has driven a tank down Fifth Avenue, crossed the English Channel in an amphibious car, taken a 407-foot jump off the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, and traveled from Morocco to Hawaii in a hot-air balloon. He’s started more than 100 different companies, including a major record label and two high-profile airlines, and made a career of challenging corporate giants. He’s a master show man in the P.T. Barnum vein, adept at catching the public’s eye with clever publicity stunts (thus the tank and the leap off the casino roof), and he’s been brilliant at understanding what consumers want and delivering it to them. He’s also been brilliant at fashioning a winning public image—fearless, irreverent, more interested in fun than profit—which over the years has become one of Virgin’s major assets and turned him into one of the greatest business impresarios in history. Yet despite all the success, which has driven his personal net worth north of $5 billion, he’s remained permanently restless. An archetypal entrepreneur, Branson has never stopped looking for the next big idea. He believes he’s found it in Virgin Galactic, a company that wants to put ordinary people into space. And he’s done it all, as he says, while working from a hammock on the private island in the Caribbean where he lives.
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Denne historien er fra March 2016-utgaven av Maxim.
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WATER WORLD
The New York Yacht Club team, American Magic, will make another run at the America's Cup in Barcelona through October
THE 2024 MAXIM HOT 100
What does it mean to be hot? Maxim's eagerly anticipated Hot 100 portfolio asks just that, charting the individuals who are blazing a trail in entertainment, fashion, sports and pop culture. Not only are these world-class stars soaring high, breaking ground, smashing records and inspiring future generations with their inimitable talent and determination, they're doing it all while emitting a sizzling, sparkling energy that leaves us in awe. Read on with caution: These names are on fire right now!
Class Act
If you're looking for Elizabeth Hurley, check the garden. A longtime staple of screens, glossy magazine spreads and red carpetsparticularly since one unforgettable gown sent her profile stratospheric in 1994-one might be surprised to learn that she has quite the green thumb
Unexpected BEAUTY
A new exhibition and book show why Danish-born photographer Mare Hom is destined for greatness
TURKISH DELIGHT
Türkiye's remote D Maris Bay resort offers a verdant oasis of pristine beaches, opulent amenities and a variety of world-class culinary outposts
The CHOSEN ONE
Catching up with Ferrari's star driver Charles Leclerc at the Montreal Grand Prix
MONDO DINO
Enzo Ferrari's exquisite homage to his late son Alfredo, the Dino sports car, now enjoys the status of being an all-time classic
Sweet Caroline
As a teenager, Caroline Silta dreamed of becoming a supermodel. With sheer determination, she now walks the runway, graces magazine covers and headlines billboards in Times Square
MANN on the STREET
Exactly one member of the 2023-24 NBA rookie class had built a legacy long before entering the league: Skechers. Last fall, the Los Angeles-based footwear giant launched its inaugural line of technical basketball shoes: the SKX Resagrip and SKX Float.
SPORTS STAR
A conversation with Meg Stewart, Division 1 soccer player-turned-sports and talent agency president