Richard Branson’s Virgin Empire began with Student magazine, which he dropped out of high school to found in 1968. In the early 1970s he began selling mail-order records out of the magazine’s office, the profits from which he put toward founding Virgin Records in 1972. Branson’s playbook has been the same ever since: use past successes as a springboard to new opportunities. Since founding Virgin Records, Branson has tried his hand at books, video, air travel, telecommunications, and space travel.