![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/HNGZ3KYAIW2JESUE7K5LKFF2FM.jpg?smart=true&auth=7781f706045c3e1512940432297bd2e0295ac5b660daa37328fda85894d0ddab&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson with Virgin Galactic colleagues on July 1.
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British businessman Sir Richard Branson during the launch of Virgin Atlantic Airways on April 6, 1984.
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The millionaire entrepreneur founded the Virgin group of companies, which covers a wide range of interests from records to airline travel, on a beach in 1986.
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Sir Richard Branson in the cabin of the 'Virgin Atlantic Flyer' balloon at Gatwick Airport in 1987.
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Sir Richard Branson inside the cockpit of a plane in New York in May 2000.
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The Virgin founder 'performs surgery' on Australian comedian Jimeoin during a sketch to launch a credit card in Sydney in 2003.
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Sir Richard Branson pilots his Gibbs Aquada amphibious car during a record-breaking 2004 crossing of the English Channel.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/P6PAVOVIHBF2FIATGWUXHICPLM.jpg?smart=true&auth=e14fad655108800eeabaa046f0709a238389045d71109cac2ff25fff840fb805&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson with his father and mother at a party in 2004 in Sydney.
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Sir Richard Branson signing up to become an astronaut in Sydney in 2005.
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Steve Fossett is hugged by Sir Richard Branson in Bournemouth, England, after making an unscheduled landing due to electrical problems with the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer aircraft in 2006.
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The Virgin Galactic founder next to a British-style red telephone box during a photocall on a man-made island off Dubai in 2006.
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Sir Richard Branson attends a photocall to launch Virgin Media's television channel Virgin 1, in Oxfordshire, England, in 2007.
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Sir Richard Branson at London's Heathrow Airport in 2008.
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Sir Richard Branson with employees during the official launch of the Virgin Active Health Club in 2009 in Sydney, Australia.
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The Virgin Galactic founder attends the media launch for a new Virgin Racing team in Notting Hill, London.
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Sir Richard Branson poses alongside Charlie Graham in 2011 in Sydney, Australia. The tycoon announced a competition that would offer the winner a trip to space aboard a Virgin Galactic space plane.
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Sir Richard Branson in a Virgin train in Liverpool, England, in 2012.
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CNBC's Middle East anchor Hadley Gamble, Sir Richard Branson and Sultan bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive of DP World, in 2018 in Dubai.
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Sir Richard Branson with Virgin Galactic colleagues on July 1.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LFI6WO75EVBTXGDWRZ2F2MNJCM.jpg?smart=true&auth=d9e52aec145d474296e435f91f287ad5aed28981e61c9fdee852de3a7087f111&width=400&height=225)
British businessman Sir Richard Branson during the launch of Virgin Atlantic Airways on April 6, 1984.
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The millionaire entrepreneur founded the Virgin group of companies, which covers a wide range of interests from records to airline travel, on a beach in 1986.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XJPWGKXWHZFAPAMJT6MWVHEDXY.jpg?smart=true&auth=1a4a9e9abb85f0880ee485bf84d0b52110cd3674b014510f2aa92a4442ece43b&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson in the cabin of the 'Virgin Atlantic Flyer' balloon at Gatwick Airport in 1987.
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Sir Richard Branson inside the cockpit of a plane in New York in May 2000.
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The Virgin founder 'performs surgery' on Australian comedian Jimeoin during a sketch to launch a credit card in Sydney in 2003.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/WNYYQDKTFFAXJIHNTIYPI2UILQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=503b24fe613f4735399b1d3697f7e916a17ce0ae960f58b7c8e5849fd4d80385&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson pilots his Gibbs Aquada amphibious car during a record-breaking 2004 crossing of the English Channel.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/P6PAVOVIHBF2FIATGWUXHICPLM.jpg?smart=true&auth=e14fad655108800eeabaa046f0709a238389045d71109cac2ff25fff840fb805&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson with his father and mother at a party in 2004 in Sydney.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/G5CO7QTCYVBFTJC7YVBEJQLCAE.jpg?smart=true&auth=ae6b9fce6628771ebe184d1b35b33c3997743d362abeec28d05d94b4f240a17f&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson signing up to become an astronaut in Sydney in 2005.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/W2SQC5M7JNEQBNJSLRBJPV6E44.jpg?smart=true&auth=73caecea7452d3f2a2c37ddae4d4d014b30c5f4b77b18d7fed536033c901d0fd&width=400&height=225)
Steve Fossett is hugged by Sir Richard Branson in Bournemouth, England, after making an unscheduled landing due to electrical problems with the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer aircraft in 2006.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/32SXSU2JENBQFIXPYJCBWRBFQQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=2f17b365ddeccd83cddf6842cb51160b5d40b15554143644e51148923bccd966&width=400&height=225)
The Virgin Galactic founder next to a British-style red telephone box during a photocall on a man-made island off Dubai in 2006.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/CJUMA3OSCFALXHMXXF6H5SX7UI.jpg?smart=true&auth=5a40682a55cc03f46508f7594989940123a74100d2269c478e94f7babbfe194c&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson attends a photocall to launch Virgin Media's television channel Virgin 1, in Oxfordshire, England, in 2007.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LUMQQQ5SF5EPXAVVXDQK6F2J5Y.jpg?smart=true&auth=458ffbf8414f607668d7c9a93dcba7b4f192c14d8d36303c4f8e1daee96b801d&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson at London's Heathrow Airport in 2008.
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Sir Richard Branson with employees during the official launch of the Virgin Active Health Club in 2009 in Sydney, Australia.
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The Virgin Galactic founder attends the media launch for a new Virgin Racing team in Notting Hill, London.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TKPI5AGSOBHZBLXOJS72UGCW54.jpg?smart=true&auth=82e08d9933ff5cb1298072053c17ccfdc34ef4633e1b00bcc9522ca65a3a1f4a&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson poses alongside Charlie Graham in 2011 in Sydney, Australia. The tycoon announced a competition that would offer the winner a trip to space aboard a Virgin Galactic space plane.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/T3UY724GJVFSRGWPMCNHFVOSIU.jpg?smart=true&auth=efe9665cb7989f1b7ecc67ef150d36b3b44a9b9697f6f1c9f35a102cc1cbcaed&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson in a Virgin train in Liverpool, England, in 2012.
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CNBC's Middle East anchor Hadley Gamble, Sir Richard Branson and Sultan bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive of DP World, in 2018 in Dubai.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/HNGZ3KYAIW2JESUE7K5LKFF2FM.jpg?smart=true&auth=7781f706045c3e1512940432297bd2e0295ac5b660daa37328fda85894d0ddab&width=400&height=225)
Sir Richard Branson with Virgin Galactic colleagues on July 1.