Branson: Taking On The World
Richard Branson has made three stabs at circling the world in a balloon, none of them successful.
But his other ventures have been successful enough to make him one of the richest men in Britain. His Virgin brand name is on everything from an airline to record stores to clothing labels and soft drinks.
Branson talks about it all in his new autobiography, Losing My Virginity.
Early on in the book, he talks about the time in his school days when he was with the headmaster's daughter when he was called to the headmaster's office. When the headmaster asked him on his honor to tell what he was doing, Branson said, "I was on my way back from your daughter's room, sir."
It didn't go down very well with the headmaster, he says, but the flamboyant business mogul has always enjoyed a challenge.
"I have been fortunate enough, I have had lots of adventure in business and personal" life, he told Jane Robelot on CBS This Morning.
Branson has come close at times to losing his life in the name of excitement. During one of his adventures, he crashed a balloon in a desert in war-torn Algeria.
"I don't want to lose my life," he says. "I just love to try to push myself and see what I'm capable of."
In four weeks, Branson will set off in a hot-air balloon with Chicago millionaire Steve Fossett. "This time, we're going to go around the world," he vows.
Both men have tried separately three times and failed in each attempt. "We're just very fortunate to be in a position where we can do things, magnificent things like sitting in a basket at 20,000, 30,000 feet," he says.
Every time Fossett attempted to circle the globe, Branson was pulling for him -- although the two could be considered rivals for the same globe-circling distinction. Branson says it was "because we knew the risks were more against the elements than against each other."
"So when his balloon went down in the Pacific and he didn't have a balloon to ride this autumn, I invited him along," Branson says.
Why has Branson been called the P.T. Barnum of business? "We like to take on the major companies, whether it's the major airlines or Coca-Cola. We try to shake them up, bring better value for money and try to make a buck at the same time. So, unlike most Western companies, we have about 100 different businesses, whereas mostÂ… specialize in just one business," he says.
Branson believes people prefer working for smaller companies like his.
"If you have 100 little groups of people with 50 people in each group, they are more likely to be happy and know what is going on than if they're in one enormous block where people don't know each other's weaknesses and strengths," he says.
Right now, Branson is launching the Virgin Cola brand as a challenge to Coca-Cola, with a shapely new bottle he calls the "Pammy Bottle," presumably after Baywatch star PamelAnderson.
"We think it tastes better. We're going to see if we can't become a major competitor to them," he says.
Whether heading around the globe in a balloon or launching a new missile in the cola wars, Richard Branson is clearly a man who enjoys taking on the world.
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