Richard Branson

When he’s not starting up a business or chasing new adventures,

Richard Branson can be found tackling problems like global warming,

poverty, and access to education. He has donated millions of dollars

of his own money and helped raise many millions more for charities.

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Few people in the world have as much fun and adventure as Richard Branson. He has set
world records for hot air balloon trips over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as for
crossing the English Channel in an amphibious car. Branson has ridden motorcycles
across deserts, sailed through monster storms, paraglided off mountains, and bungee-
jumped over waterfalls.
He counts people like legendary South African leader Nelson Mandela and musician
Peter Gabriel among his many famous friends.
Wherever he goes on his world travels, Branson seeks out new experiences, interesting
people, and fresh challenges. He also finds new business opportunities - at last count,
Richard Branson had more than 400 companies in every field from music and
entertainment to airlines, mobile phone providers, green fuels, and a space travel agency!
Not every one of his business ventures has worked out, but enough have succeeded to
make Richard a multi-billionaire and one of the richest people in the world.
It’s an impressive success story for a man who started off as a failure in school. Suffering
from dyslexia (a learning disability in which the brain mixes up the order of letters and
numbers), Richard Branson was a terrible student and dropped out of school at age