Review | Richard Branson’s latest memoir reveals perhaps more than the Virgin emperor intended

Finding My Virginity
by Richard Branson
Virgin Books

Some people have the good fortune to be high achievers in multiple fields. As well as being an extraordinary poet, Philip Larkin was a noted university librarian and a fine jazz and book reviewer. Great Britain’s wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill, was a gifted oil painter and productive writer. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is perhaps this century’s most generous philanthropist.

This is understandable: some people are born with remark­able drive and intelligence, and apply those attributes to their various interests. In Richard Branson’s second volume of memoirs, Finding My Virginity, we learn much about a man who refuses to be hemmed in.

Branson is a remarkable entrepreneur who built a global empire from nothing. Through the years, his Virgin Records has been home to artists ranging from Mike Oldfield and the Sex Pistols to the Rolling Stones. His airline, Virgin Atlantic, fought off the “dirty tricks” campaign of British Airways to flourish in a hugely competitive market. Retailer Virgin Megastore made high-street music shops hip. Telecoms company Virgin Media took the dismal NTL broadband business and became the first to combine it with cable, land­lines and mobile. Financial services brand Virgin Money took over crumbling Northern Rock bank and made it thrive.

All are major success stories – and that’s before we even mention Virgin Rail, Virgin Books or fleeting efforts such as Virgin Vodka and Virgin Cola (there were even Virgin condoms).

Branson clearly knows what he is good at and when to delegate. This is why the chapters of Finding My Virginity in which he discusses overcoming difficulties and besting competitors are gripping. These include the court case that Branson insisted upon when Virgin Rail was denied Britain’s west coast route after what the High Court eventually agreed was an inferior bid from National Express.