Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

Sir Richard Branson is one of the world’s most recognizable, charitable and fun loving billionaires. Today, he turns 61 years old.

In honor of this fun, loving, generous, record breaking (he crossed the English Channel in record time) entreprenuer, we thought we’d take a look at this Great Briton’s accomplishments.

First: a ‘lil bit about the man.  

PHOTOS: Blowing Money Fast, Billionaires Ballin’

Branson got his start when he was a 16-year-old teenager living in the UK. His first business venture was a magazine called Student, then later a mail-order record company he called Virgin, launched in 1970.

Within two years, he opened his first retail shops called Virgin Records which became Virgin Megastores.

With over 400 Virgin branded companies under his belt, Branson is the the UK’s 5th richest person and the 254th richest in the world. 

After the break, check out some of the things Branson unleashed on the world! 

[pagebreak]

Richard Branson signed the Sex Pistols to his Virgin label after no one wanted anything to do with the group.

[pagebreak]

Branson signed Culture Club and Boy George too.

[pagebreak]

Ricard Branson made international and national flying sexy again with Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic.

[pagebreak]

He introduced space tourism via his Virgin Galactic, a sub orbital spaceship which will take people into space for $200K a ticket.

[pagebreak]

Richard Branson launched Virgin Fuels in 2005 in response to global warming. Branson said that he was a skeptic until he met Al Gore.

[pagebreak]

Richard Branson launched a series of Virgin branded health products, including a health measuring tool called Virgin LifeCare in New Zealand.