The jet stream is a very strong force and pushing a balloon into it is like pushing up against a brick wall, but once we got into it, we found that, remarkably, the balloon went whatever speed the wind went.

On 24 January 2011 Branson was awarded the German Media Prize (organised by "Media Control Charts" ) previously handed to former U. H. Early life
Branson was born in Blackheath London the son and eldest child of barrister Edward James Branson (10 March 1918 – 19 March 2011) and Eve Huntley Branson (née Flindt).

In 1972 he opened a chain of record stores Virgin Records later known as Virgin Megastores. His first business venture was a magazine called Student at the age of 16. Branson is the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom according to the Forbes 2012 list of billionaires with an estimated net worth of US$4.