The partnership has since gone up in smoke, and with it Branson's pocket change.
"My biggest weakness in life is that I can't say no, " says Branson, 49.
Virgin Galactic, Branson's bet that relatively low-cost space tourism will be available--and popular--in the near future.
For Mr. Branson, the test flight met its most important goal: validating the rocket ship's design.
The spaceplane being developed by UK billionaire Sir Richard Branson has made its first powered flight.
Not to be outdone, Sir Richard Branson and Mark Cuban will each try to trump Trump.
On Branson's and Cuban's shows, contestants similarly will compete for the star billionaire's approval.
Bursting from a buttoned-down nation, Branson brought a spirit of rebellious adventure to making money.
Branson is also trying to push bio-fuels in the airline industry, but the plan is controversial.
Never a whiz at finance, Branson early on learned to exploit the power of hype.
So to Germans, Richard Branson is completely exotic, and all the better for that.
If there are disagreements over strategy, Branson tends to buy them out or sell his stake.
On occasion Branson has hurt his brand by failing to deliver on expectations of high-quality service.
Branson is keenly afraid of failure--because it would tarnish his image as a marketing Midas.
Joint ventures also allow Branson to trade the Virgin name as if it were rare currency.
Some might mistake the kooky product demonstration for a late-night TV infomercial, but Branson was bedazzled.
Taking the polar opposite approach to Bezos is the billionaire king of publicity himself, Richard Branson.
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Never knowingly understated, Branson marked the occasion by rappelling down the side of the glass building.
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Apparently, for billionaire adventurer Richard Branson, space is no longer the final frontier.
Benioff asked Branson about investing into the next generation of entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg.
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They may have worked alongside the next Richard Branson or the next Bill Gates.
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"I think that with any sort of recognition comes responsibility, " Branson says of his trendsetter label.
David caves to Goliath, Richard Branson to British Airways, Fred Smith to the U.S. Postal Service.
"The team have become very popular since the beginning of the season, " said Branson.
Branson's Virgin Galactic hopes to take paying passengers on three-hour suborbital flights by early 2009.
Branson, owner of Virgin Airways, joined Piccard and Jones in Geneva for a champagne toast.
Branson said it was the first time a spaceship has landed at an airport.
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Branson is an anomaly, even among his dive-into-business-and-education-be-damned peers like famous Harvard dropout Bill Gates.
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And Richard Branson is planning to take tourists on jaunts into low-orbit space via Virgin Galactic.
You then throw out a bunch of others like Jeff Bezos, Branson, and others.
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