The flamboyant Virgin Group founder shares some thoughts with Zhu Huanian about the pluck and luck that have bred
success for the celebrated tycoon, adventurer and humanitarian during his latest visit in Shanghai.

Sir Richard Branson arrives at the Shanghai World Financial Center and is immediately surrounded by a crowd of screaming admirers, mostly young ladies. A herd of photographers, mostly young men, jostle through the tumult trying to capture another great moment in the life of the legendary billionaire.

He smiles. He hugs fans. He graciously poses for pictures.

In a casual suit with no tie, his face framed by the trademark shaggy blond hair, Branson's reception in a city half a world away from his small hometown on England's south coast is a testament to the golden age of the global entrepreneur.

"Yes, I like being popular," the Virgin Group founder admitted in an interview last week shortly before a celebration party marking the 10th anniversary of Virgin Atlantic's Shanghai-London route.

The 59-year-old tycoon who founded the Virgin brand has become a media star in more than just a business sense.

He has traveled the globe in hot-air balloons. He has crossed the Atlantic under sail. He stared down a cobra in India and posed with a nude model on his private island Necker.

His success in commerce has made him the envy of corporate rivals and his devil-may-care adventurism has made him a role model for many aspiring young businessmen.

But the road to fame wasn't a cakewalk for the owner of the Virgin Group, which comprises 350 companies.

Branson was dyslexic and nearsighted as a boy. By the age of eight, he still couldn't read. Despite the handicaps, his business genius began to shine in his teenage years. Starting with the publication of a magazine called "Student," Branson demonstrated a flair for entrepreneurship. When he left school at 17, his headmaster's parting words were: "Congratulations, Branson. I predict that you will either go to prison or become a millionaire."

Virgin Atlantic was the first airline to operate a Shanghai-London route and Branson doesn't hide his pride or confidence in his accomplishments, even as the global airline business struggles with a severe economic slowdown.

"If you are in the airline business, there are always cycles,'' he said. Virgin Atlantic has experienced four or five down cycles in the past 25 years -- SARS, the 9/11 attacks.

"We build up financial strength in the good years to cope with recessions, and we will continue to fly through this recession," he said.

Branson eyes China as a crucial part of his expansion ambitions.

"There are younger Chinese entrepreneurs who have come to us and said, 'you built the Virgin brand in the world. You should do it in China'," he said.

"Potentially,'' he went on, "we could start a domestic airline in China with Chinese partners. Potentially, we could get into financial services here. And maybe one day we could bring our spaceship company to China when it is up running in the next couple of years."

Whether it's space tours, airlines, the record industry, mobile phone services, soft drinks, radio, balloon flights, publishing, digital music, wedding services, electronics, jewelry, limousines, finance, trains, holiday services or the Internet, Branson approaches diversification of the Virgin brand according to one simple rule.

"There's no point in starting a new project that other people are doing well. So we only go into new businesses that we believe are failing the public,'' he said.

"We only go into new businesses if we feel we can create something really special. We really only go into new businesses if we feel we can shake up the industry," he added.

He's apparently not one to agonize over decisions. In his autobiography "Losing My Virginity," he said he tends to make up his mind about people within 30 seconds and can also make a business decision in similar time. It's a question of whether a project excites him.

The latest example could be his tie-up with Formula One. Only four hours before Branson boarded a flight to Australia, he sealed a sponsorship deal with the new Brown GP team, right before the season opened in Melbourne earlier this year.

"It's funny. I just shook hands with (team owner) Ross Brown and jumped on the last flight to Australia on Thursday (before the Melbourne Grand Prix),'' he said. "I had 'Fly Virgin' stickers in my suitcase. After I arrived, they put the stickers on the cars, and the cars took first and second.''

He stopped to laugh at the recollection. "I am a lucky person," he said.

Branson is indeed lucky. The Brown team now leads the constructor's standings, with its two drivers Briton Jenson Button and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello ranked first and second at this point in the season.

A snap decision should be underpinned by some rationale. Branson's entry into auto racing is somewhat complicated.

"I knew the people on the team. I knew they had developed a good car. It's extremely sad if the car wouldn't run. It's extremely sad if 500 people would lose their jobs," he said, recalling the situation after Honda quit the circuit because of the global economic crisis.

"In life, you do things for a lot of different reasons," he added.

With Virgin still the only logo on the cars, however, Branson is quick to admit that Formula One is a very expensive venture.

"We did this to save the team on a 12-month basis, to make sure they can continue. Whether we would continue for the next year, we will see," he said.

Branson's space tour business is another "Virgin first."

Virgin Galactic is expected to start putting people in space within 18 months. It is also a business designed to help universities, hospitals, weather stations and other entities launch satellites. Branson is even bold enough to say that maybe one day space touring technology will shorten travel times on trans-continental flights.

"Shanghai-London would only take an hour if the technology could take people outside the atmosphere and back again," he said.

Though he sits atop a successful personal empire, Branson finds time to turn his entrepreneurial skills to humanitarian causes and global problems. Though the airline business is a big carbon emitter, he is an advocate of tackling global warming.

"We are putting 100 percent of the profit we make in the 'dirty business' into developing clean fuel,'' he said. "Within five years, all our planes will be flying on clean fuel. We hope to be the first airline that is completely carbon neutral."

Branson is also a philanthropist involved with programs to combat disease and reduce regional conflicts, especially in Africa. He said he's most proud of The Elders, an independent organization he helped found with a membership that includes Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan.

Branson admits that his life has been nothing short of "incredible.''

He said he has no regrets and most importantly, he doesn't take himself too seriously.

And where does it all end?

"When a rock star dies, the record sales go double or triple," Branson said. "Hopefully the same will happen to Virgin products when I die."


The History Of The Branson Empire

1950: Born in Shamley Green, near Bournemouth on the south coast of England.
1968: On January 26, launched magazine "Student," Richard Branson's first business.
1971: First Virgin record store opened in London.
1980: Virgin record company expanded to overseas markets.
1982: Phil Collins signed with Virgin record company.
1984: Set up Virgin Atlantic airlines.
1986: In November, Virgin Group went public on London stock exchange.
1988: First biography of Richard Branson published. The author is Mick Brown.
1992: In March, sold Virgin record company to Sony-EMI in a deal worth more than US$1 billion.
1994: In February, Virgin Atlantic introduced daily flights between Hong Kong and London. Tapped into drinks market with Virgin Drinks.
1995: In March, opened Virgin Direct Personal Financial Service
1996: Launched Virgin.net Website and wedding service.
1999: Virgin Atlantic started direct flights from Shanghai to London.
2000: Mobile phone service company One 2 One acquired 3G license.
Virgin Blue began to serve travelers in Australia.
2001: Mobile phone service subscribers exceeded 1 million. Co-founded The Elders independent organization.
2004: Established the world's first space line, Virgin Galactic. It expects to bring tourists into space in about 18 months.
2006: Created more than 200 branded companies worldwide, employing about 50,000 people in nearly 30 countries and regions. Revenues exceeded US$20 billion a year. Established Virgin Green Fund to invest in companies in the renewable energy and resource efficiency sectors in the United States and Europe.
2007: In August, low-cost airline Virgin America took off.
2009: On an eight-day around-the-world trip to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Virgin Atlantic.