Being a successful billionaire, there is no doubt that Branson is intelligent. Did he learn his tricks in college?
Richard Branson did not attend college. In fact, he was a high school dropout. He left the Stowe School in Buckinghamshire at 16, and went on to found the conglomerate Virgin Group, which owns over 400 companies. Branson reportedly now has a net worth of over $4.5 billion, and does not see a traditional education as a necessity for success.
Read more for Branson’s advice on how to be successful, and his own experience with education.
Branson’s Life Before Launching Virgin
Richard Branson was born in 1950 in Blackheath, London, to former ballerina and air hostess Eve Branson and barrister Edward Branson. He has three younger siblings.
Growing up, Branson attended the preparatory Scaitcliffe School in Surrey, and went on to attend Cliff View House School in Sussex.
Finally, he went to Stowe School in Buckinghamshire until he was 16 years old.
Suffering from dyslexia, Branson found it difficult to focus in school. He recalled that his principle told him on the last day of school that he would either end up in prison or a millionaire.
For a year from 1967-1968, Branson lived as a squatter in England.
In 1996, he finally launched his own magazine named Student and it did well, making him a decent income within a year.
After this, he started a “mail-order” record business, selling records at significantly lower prices than large stores.
Starting Virgin Group
Branson may have inherited his entrepreneurial flair from his mother, who was a successful innovator in her time, selling tissue boxes and bins.
In 1972, he founded the record label Virgin Records along with his friend Nick Powell.
They signed various bands, and eventually became the top independent record label in the world.
Branson went on to expand his brand into a host of industries. His next venture would be Virgin Airlines (later known as Virgin Atlantic), followed by Virgin Rail Group.
He went on to create many subsidiaries under the label, the most popular of which include Virgin Mobile and Virgin Media.
The company even has a space mission called Virgin Galactic.
Part of Branson’s appeal is his plunging into the business market as a “Virgin” (which is where the name for his company originated) with no experience.
This, he says, provides him with a unique perspective that veterans in the market do not have.
Branson On The Importance Of Innovation
Branson has disclosed several times that a university degree is not necessarily as valuable as people consider it to be.
In a blog post on the Virgin Group’s website, he wrote, “In my opinion, entrepreneurial drive beats a fancy degree anytime.”
He spoke out about his struggle with dyslexia in response to a question about the value of education. He said, “I didn’t go to a prestigious university; in fact, I didn’t even finish secondary school. I suffer from dyslexia and couldn’t keep up with my studies as a teenager. I didn’t fit in at all.”
The Virgin founder concluded by saying, “The point is that university isn’t the be-all and end-all, and it’s certainly not a prerequisite for business success.”
“I’m not saying that people shouldn’t go to university if they want to, but simply calling attention to the benefits of learning from the school of life. I received my own education through work. In my opinion, real-life learning is the best way to acquire skills. In fact, I’ve been campaigning for education to be rethought.”
He pointed out that several businessmen like himself, including Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg, never completed college.
Since then, Branson has become one of the richest men in the world, with an estimated net worth of over $4.5 billion.