Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born on July 18, 1950 in Blackheath, London. Dyslexic and ill at ease at school, he left high school at 16 to launch his first business, a student magazine called Student. This entrepreneurial precocity heralded an extraordinary career that would make him one of the richest and most media-savvy men in the world.
In 1970, Branson founded Virgin Records, a record label that signed the Sex Pistols, Mike Oldfield and the Rolling Stones before becoming one of the world's biggest. He sold the label to EMI in 1992 for a billion dollars and reinvested in Virgin Atlantic, his airline founded in 1984 to compete with British Airways.
The Virgin empire then expanded into dozens of sectors (telecommunications, banking, healthcare, space), making Branson the symbol of the bold, creative entrepreneur. Virgin Galactic, his space tourism project, propels him into space in July 2021 aboard his own spaceship, a few days before Jeff Bezos.
Richard Branson makes no secret of his personal cannabis consumption: he recounts smoking a joint with his son on his private Necker Island, an anecdote he recounts in his autobiography. But his commitment goes far beyond personal anecdotes.
Branson is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, an international organization that brings together former heads of state, intellectuals and entrepreneurs to promote global drug policy reform. He regularly appears in the international press to defend the decriminalization and legalization of cannabis, arguing that the war on drugs is a costly failure that needlessly criminalizes millions of people.
Richard Branson is also interested in cannabis as an investment opportunity. He has taken stakes in a number of companies in the legal cannabis sector and publicly encourages entrepreneurs to get involved in this industry, which he sees as a major economic and social opportunity.
Richard Branson's influence on the cannabis legalization debate has less to do with his investments than with his ability to bring the subject into economic and political circles traditionally closed to such discussion. By associating his image as a respectable entrepreneur and popular personality with the pro-legalization cause, he helps to normalize the debate among a public that would not necessarily recognize itself in a classic cannabis activist.
Richard Branson, the famous entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group, calls on the British government to legalize and regulate cannabis. Branson argues that the legalization of...
Singapore is set to hang a man for cannabis trafficking, in the city-state's latest controversial execution. Tangaraju, 46, was...
Businessman and billionaire Sir Richard Brandon, who is traveling around New Zealand to speak at a charity dinner, told the...
Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson made an appearance this weekend at the New West Summit cannabis trade show in San Francisco. In front of an enthusiastic crowd, he declared...
Billionaire Richard Branson invites parents to smoke with their children if they can. The Virgin creator told a conference of cannabis entrepreneurs...
With Father's Day just around the corner (have you found your present yet?), here are 10 star dads who have come out of the closet and are smoking cannabis with...
CES in Las Vegas is the meeting place for technophiles and high-tech companies. These companies are invited to present their latest innovations to a public...
A change in the law often involves its spokespeople. In the United States and England, several celebrities are defending the legalization of marijuana, allowing the message to have a...
