Claim: Richard Branson established Virgin Atlantic airlines.

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson -LRB- born 18 July 1950 -RRB- is an English business magnate , investor and philanthropist . He founded the Virgin Group , which controls more than 400 companies .   Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at a young age . At the age of sixteen his first business venture was a magazine called Student . In 1970 , he set up a mail-order record business . In 1972 , he opened a chain of record stores , Virgin Records , later known as Virgin Megastores . Branson 's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s , as he set up Virgin Atlantic airline and expanded the Virgin Records music label .   In March 2000 , Branson was knighted at Buckingham Palace for `` services to entrepreneurship '' . For his work in retail , music and transport -LRB- with interests in land , air , sea and space travel -RRB- , his taste for adventure , and for his humanitarian work , he became one of the most prominent figures in British culture . In 2002 he was named in the BBC 's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons . In January 2016 , Forbes listed Branson 's estimated net worth at $ 5.2 billion .