Heir apparent: Will Sam Branson keep Virgin Atlantic flying high?

Posted Mar 18th 2008 2:48PM by Beth Gaston Moon
Filed under: Management, Employees, Entrepreneurs

This post is one of several on business heirs apparent. Let us know in the comments whether you think Sam Branson should take up the reigns of Virgin, and be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.

One might say Sam Branson is a fortunate son, born into a life of money, leadership, and rock-and-roll. His father, whimsical billionaire Richard Branson, carries a net worth of $3.8 billion and maintains a fleet of Virgin-branded enterprises. Branson built this umbrella of companies from the ground up starting nearly 40 years ago.

The Virgin brand soared to prominence in the early 1980s as a record label featuring such acts as the Rolling Stones and Janet Jackson. Ahead of the bubble burst for the compact-disc industry, Branson unloaded this arm of the Virgin empire in 1992, focusing on his pet project -- Virgin Atlantic Airways, which launched in 1984.

Other Virgin progeny include pay-as-you-go mobile-phone service Virgin Mobile (sold to NTL for about 1 billion pounds in July 2006) and Virgin Fuels, which seeks to develop environmentally friendly and cheaper fuel sources for automobiles and airplanes.

Branson's sense of adventure, critical in his business ventures, has also taken him into and across the world's oceans. He has broken speed records in both boat and hot-air balloon, and recently boarded an amphibious vehicle to cross the English Channel in record time.

From a professional and personal perspective, his only son, Sam, has some big shoes to fill (his sole daughter, Holly, is a medical doctor). Right now, the 22-year-old is occasionally spotted hob-nobbing with celebutantes such as Paris Hilton. Sam also has a modest modeling career, launched after dropping out of college (in addition to DNA, father and son share this in common; Richard was a high-school dropout himself).

But Sam isn't just a pretty face. He recently documented a month-long expedition to the Arctic in order to find and face facts about global warming. His resulting journal, Arctic Diary, will be published this September by Virgin Books (who else?). Richard is eager for his son to join the Virgin empire, and a multi-billion dollar corporation is there for the taking. Can Sam mix photo shoots with time in the board room? And will he have the creative ingenuity that has defined Dear Old Dad's career? The younger Branson's philanthropic efforts already seem to be coming from the same place -- perhaps his business sense will as well.

Also be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.

Tags: Arctic Diary, featured, heir apparent, Richard Branson, Sam Branson, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Books, Virgin Mobile

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-18-2008 @ 4:38PM

tim said...

A few weeks back, I met Sam--very nice kid. Surprisingly so considering the attitude problems of other heirs

Tim
http://www.timothysykes.com

3-18-2008 @ 6:32PM

Michael Schneider said...

A synopsis of recent comments by Richard Branson on the world economy is available free in the Billionaire Watch section at http://www.Barrelomoney.com.

This Sam Branson may have good start but who will be the next Warren Buffett is what I wonder about. It's something nobody can really inherit because even though his political views seem off base on occasion he is a voice of reason that is much needed at a time of market turmoil (no offense to Richard Branson though).