Valleywag: Richard Branson

La petite mort for man, a giant hump for mankind

Jackson West — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:20:00 PDT

Playboy capitalist Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic will take your $200,000 to book a brief trip to space. But when offered $1 million cash upfront to let an unnamed pornographer film some zero-gravity, superatmospheric nookie with the futurist-fetish SpaceShipTwo cabin as a backdrop, the space-tourism startup declined. Which leaves us here at Valleywag nothing to look forward to on the smut market once Hustler Video debuts the company's hardcore ode to Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin (Warning: Boobies and such). [Slashdot] (Photo by Getty/Daniel Berehulak)

Is Richard Branson a green hypocrite -- or just a bad businessman?

Owen Thomas — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:40:00 PDT

Ireland's Sunday Business Post savages Virgin chief Richard Branson for the $3 billion pledge he made two years ago to invest all the profits from his air and rail-transport businesses into cleantech. The Post notes that Branson's green technology of choice, biofuels, has fallen out of favor, as scientists and politicians debate whether we should be fueling our tanks or feeding people with the source materials for vegetable-derived energy. The Post, in other words, is accusing an entrepreneur of being an entrepreneur. Hardly stinging. If one really wanted to bring Branson down, one might have pointed out how the normally savvy media spinner just highlighted the food-vs.-energy debate when, for a photo op at a test flight powered by coconut and palm oil, he drank some of the fuel out of a coconut. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)

Back to our regularly scheduled Xeni Space Pr0n

Paul Boutin — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:40:00 PDT

Save your blog drama for Obama. Boing Boing starship trooper Xeni Jardin posted close-up photos of fun-loving Virgin billionaire Richard Branson's new space tourism plane, Eve, from yesterday's big debut event.
(Photo by Brian Lam)

Page, Branson, Wales and Blair fuel up private jets for more green getaways

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:00:00 PDT

Earlier this month, Virgin's Richard Branson hosted Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and his wealthier coevals on Necker Island for a discussion on global warming. The beach party seemed to be held mostly for the benefit of a sun-satiated New York Times reporter. But, between sips of pinot grigio, Branson and his tanning friends confirmed that yes, they will consider holding another such confab again in the future. You don't see plebes in Priuses saving the world, do you? Write your best caption in the comments.

While Wikipedia burns, Jimmy Wales and women in bikinis save "world on fire"

Owen Thomas — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:00:17 PDT

We were right: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales really did skip off to Richard Branson's Caribbean getaway in early March, even as a scandal unfolded over his governance of the world's most comprehensive list of gay animals. The powwow on Necker Island, which included Google's Larry Page, Tesla Motors chairman Elon Musk, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and VC Vinod Khosla, discussed global warming. Branson asked: "Is the world on fire?"

It may well be. Aflame, too, are the sentiments of Wikipedia's volunteers, many of whom are already enraged by Wales's jetsetting ways. For Wales, the gathering had an added attraction: After lunch, Branson took a party by catamaran to Mosquito, where women in bikini danced on the beach. "Normally the girls would be naked, but the prime minister is here," said Branson.

(Image via Wikimedia Commons)

Is Jimmy Wales headed to Richard Branson's Virgin island this weekend?

Owen Thomas — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:40:32 PST

Even Richard Branson has fallen under Jimmy Wales's spell. The oddly charismatic founder of the world's foremost compendium of ways to say "I ate my cat" is set to attend a global-warming summit on Necker Island, Branson's remote Caribbean getaway. The get-together is so exclusive, Wales told ex-girlfriend Rachel Marsden, that even Al Gore wasn't invited. In the aftermath of l'affaire Marsden and related disclosures about abuses of his position as a Wikipedia board member, it's not clear if Wales is still planning to go.

In mid-February, he'd Wales announced he wasn't leaving the U.S. for two months. (Necker is in the British Virgin Islands.) But a little white lite, so he can hobnob with the rich and powerful, ignoring his responsibilities as parent, startup founder, and spiritual leader of a social movement? That's the worldly Wales we've ungrudgingly come to admire. Go to Necker, Jimbo — carbon offsets be damned!

Gavin Newsom makes Larry and Lucy's short list

Owen Thomas — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:00:29 PST

We hear that Larry Page's wedding to Lucy Southworth on Necker Island Sunday was a smaller affair than widely reported — only 170 people, not 600. Confirmed in attendance: Richard Branson, who officiated, and Bono, who read a poem he wrote for the couple and performed a song. Oh, and also San Francisco's hunky god-mayor, Gavin Newsom, shown here with Page and Google cofounder Brin. How do we know Newsom was there?

Well, a good source tells us so. But hard evidence backs up our tipster. Newsom's public schedule notes the normally mayor had no public events. San Francisco supervisor Sean Elsbernd filled in as acting mayor. And I got a somewhat exasperated spokeswoman in his office to confess, finally, that Newsom was out of the country over the weekend.

Last year, Newsom claimed that he isn't particularly close to Page or Brin. And here he is going to Page's wedding. A politician lying? Shocking.

(Photo by Steve Jennings/WireImage.com)

Richard Branson, the best man Larry Page could find

Megan McCarthy — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:00:52 PST

British billionaire and Virgin founder Richard Branson is going to be the best man in this weekend's wedding of Google cofounder Larry Page and his fiancée, Lucy Southworth, according to Reuters. Really? Richard Branson? The loudmouth entrepreneur who named his business empire after his sexual status? He and Larry are that tight? Branson over Larry's brother Carl, who is also a successful entrepreneur? Not Sergey Brin, Larry's cofounder, who reportedly had Larry do the honors at his wedding? Our cynical opinion: Branson's status in the wedding party was most likely a quid pro quo for hosting their nuptials on his privately owned Necker Island. (Photo by David Thomson/AFP)

Al Gore to skip out on Larry and Lucy's wedding

Megan McCarthy — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:39:13 PST

Today's San Francisco Chronicle has more details on the upcoming wedding of Google founder Larry Page and his girlfriend Lucy Southworth. The Chronicle confirms that it will be happening the weekend of December 8, but they can't seem to find the location. As we told you earlier this month, it's taking place on Necker Island, the Caribbean hideaway owned by Virgin billionaire Richard Branson. Branson, naturally, is expected to attend the event, along with San Francisco god-mayor Gavin Newsom and "many current and former Google employees" (Perhaps ex-girlfriend Marissa Mayer?). One person, though, is skipping the bash.

That's former U.S. Vice President and current Google "senior advisor" Al Gore, who has a previous engagement in Oslo, Norway that weekend — he's receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. ("Larry Page allowed that, on the list of excuses, that was acceptable," Gore told the Chronicle.) Gore is hoping to attend via videoconferencing, destroying any pretense of this being a high-society soirée —Necker's going to be Nerd Island for the weekend.

Which Google founder has the best wedding site?

Tim Faulkner — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:33:59 PDT

There's nothing like good-natured competition amongst cofounders. So which Google founder topped the other with the best wedding locale? Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki of 23AndMe conjoined their gene pools at magician David Copperfield's exclusive Musha Cay, and it's rumored that Larry Page and fiancée Lucy Southworth have reserved Richard Branson's Necker Island, pictured above, for a December 7 wedding. A complete comparison of the private islands after the jump. Who splurged the most? You decide.

	Necker Island	Musha Cay
Location	The British Virgin Islands, accessible only by private launch or helicopter	Bahamas, 85 miles southeast of Nassau, accessible by chartered flight
Size	72 acres	more than 150 acres
Owner	Richard Branson, fun-loving media tycoon	David Copperfield, magician accused of rape
Of Note	Branson enjoys bathing nude in the outdoor bathtub.	Copperfield claims to have found "The Fountain of Youth" on his island
Famous Guests	Mel Gibson, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg	Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Steve Martin
Rooms	"The Great House has eight stunning rooms, each with a balcony, comfy four poster king sized beds with mosquito nets and ensuite bathrooms." Five additional Bali Houses dot the island. "Three houses have three tiered levels with alfresco style living. The other two are spacious one level suites. Each house has access to pools and of course stunning views of the ocean or across the island.	"Guests may choose to stay in their own private 10,000-square-foot Manor House on the crest of a hill, or a thatched-roof Beach House far from sight and sound of another human being. Or they may select one of two Guest Villas with two bedrooms, private outdoor Jacuzzis and beaches or a five-bedroom Beachside Villa." Restricted to 24 guests at a time.
Amenities	beach Olympics, sailing, snorkelling, tennis, babysitting, snooker, piano, kite-surfing, and a spa	4 hot tubs, a jacuzzi, freeform pool, scuba diving, bicycling, billiards, tennis, windsurfing, 5 boats, jet skis, and a message table.
Dining	"Our chefs will prepare guests favourites, or wow them with their Michelin star cuisine. Every evening is an adventure as guests dine in some of the most stunning locations around the island - Beach BBQ's on Turtle beach, Sushi in the pool or Gala evenings in The Great House."	A recent guest complained of being served such "delicacies like Doritos, three kinds of Pringles and Cracker Barrel cheese.... When we saw the cheap Kendall Jackson Merlot (has nobody on this island seen "Sideways"?) at dinner, the Cracker Barrel made perfect sense."
Website	Neckerisland.com features high-bandwidth options with video, low-bandwidth with Flash animations, and a more accessible html version.	Mushacay.com is unaccessible because it has exceeded its bandwidth limitations.
Cost	Pricing per night starts at $46,000 per night for up to twenty-eight people or $22,500 per week per couple	Pricing starts at $32,250 a night for up to twelve people

Larry and Lucy to wed on Necker Island?

Megan McCarthy — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:44:56 PDT

So, where do you vacation when you're a multibillionaire? Try crashing at your billionaire friend's place. According to a source close to Lucy Southworth, Google cofounder Larry Page's fiancée has reserved Necker Island, the Caribbean hideaway of Virgin megamogul Richard Branson, for Larry and Lucy's upcoming nuptials. The location is consistent with the visa requirements mentioned in a blog post briefly published on Fortune's website, then erased. The private resort should offer plenty of privacy and security for the camera-shy couple. Past guests include Princess Diana, whose presence there required a 150-meter security perimeter around the entire island.

Virgin Mobile IPO fails to pop

Jordan Golson — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:19:17 PDT

Some IPOs — like Google and VMWare—are impressive from the start. Others — like Vonage, which has fallen 85 percent since going public — fall flat. Virgin Mobile, with its cherry brand name and backers, should have had a sparkling debut. And yet it didn't.

Virgin Mobile, unlike the big carriers, rents a wireless network rather than owning one, essentially gussying up and reselling Sprint's service under its own name. It's a challenging business model, known in the trade as being a "mobile virtual network operator" or "MVNO." Disney and Amp'd, among others, have failed to make a go of it.

Renting one's network means lower capital costs, and according to the Wall Street Journal, Virgin has 4.83 million subscribers and actually made a small profit this year. Virgin Mobile has plenty of revenue, but with a flat IPO today and loads of debt, it is unclear if it can make itself into a viable company.

Disney Mobile shut down last month and Amp'd burned through hundreds of millions of dollars with nothing to show for it. History does not look good for Virgin, but with strong name recognition among their target market and clever advertising, we don't put it past Sir Richard to succeed where others have failed.

(Photo by AP/Jacques Brinon)

Sir Richard Branson has dumped his Virigin ...

Mary Jane Irwin — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:46:15 PDT

Sir Richard Branson has dumped his Virigin Megastores — those emporia of old-school CDs — into the lap of Zavvi Entertainment Group. Stores in the United Kingdom will be rebranded "Zavvi" as early as November. Not even the ringle can keep Branson in the music retail business. [Gamesindustry]

Richard Branson gets a bit wet over Virgin America

Owen Thomas — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:36:08 PDT

We missed this the first time around: Virgin founder Richard Branson, touting the new San Francisco-based airline Virgin America, drenches Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert with a bottle of water. Whatever it takes, Sir Richard, as long as you keep provoking United and American into suicidal fare wars on the SFO-JFK route.

Richard Branson moves in on Google girl

Chris Mohney — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 10:00:17 PDT

A disturbing moment from the TED conference captured by eBayer Pierre Omidyar's Flickr stream. Sergey Brin's fiancée Anne Wojcicki canoodling with the rebel billionaire himself, Sir Richard Branson. Such unseemly public head-rubbing.