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Richard Branson, do you like or dislike him?

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    dip_transferdip_transfer Posts: 2,327
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    I think he's a great bloke, He comes across as a genuine honest fella, I can imagine him to be ruthless business wise, but a nice ruthless:D
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    spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    avoided prison because he had a rich dad.

    not a fan. read Tim Jackson's biography.
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    dip_transferdip_transfer Posts: 2,327
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    spiney2 wrote: »
    avoided prison because he had a rich dad.

    not a fan. read Tim Jackson's biography.

    Are you referring to the importation of Records and the tax avoidance thing :D
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    rumpleteazerrumpleteazer Posts: 5,746
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    I like him. When I was a kid I wrote him a letter because one of the Disney World ride pictures in the brochure was labelled wrong, I said I knew it was wrong because that ride made me cry. He replied, apologised and said it did look scary :D I was 11 at the time
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    Paradise_LostParadise_Lost Posts: 6,454
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    I generally have a positive impression. And it's more of an impression than a fully formed opinion. I did curse his name once after a kerfuffle with Virgin Atlantic though!
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    ZicoZZicoZ Posts: 7,642
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    He's a dyslexic / aspergers so good on him :)
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    valkayvalkay Posts: 15,728
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    No, he's a con man. When he started Virgin Airlines he set up a marketing company which ordered 1000s of Virgin Tee shirts from the company where my wife worked. He then put his company into administration and my wife's company never got paid, so they were all made redundant.
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    rick182rick182 Posts: 11,092
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    ZicoZ wrote: »
    He's a dyslexic / aspergers so good on him :)

    Yes but not aspergers
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    jrajra Posts: 48,325
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    blueblade wrote: »
    Also, when the Cumbria train crash occurred involving a Virgin train in 2007, he was on the scene and conducting media interviews within a few hours, despite having the flu.

    So on the whole pretty positive.

    Yep, that was a good thing to do.

    Considering the scale of the accident, only one person died, which is sad. However, things could have been so much worse.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayrigg_derailment
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,376
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    Met him a few times and worked for him. Like so many self made business men, he is ruthless but I still admire, respect and like him. Always dealt fairly and made time for people, but never suffers fools. My kinda guy.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 22,736
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    I do not like him but I admire him and i am very jealous of his wealth and success.
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    EVILSPEAKEVILSPEAK Posts: 980
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    As a Virgin Media customer if I ever met him I'd like to introduce him to my throttling policy!

    And I would like him slightly more if his call centres were actually based in the UK.
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    spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    he called his staff "bastards" on national tv. and was effectively removed from one of his own companies.

    hes probably competent, but whats special about running cherry picked companies guaranteed to make money (And partly taxpayer subsidised)?

    at one point virgin trains was not just a mess but actually dangerous. they stopped doing maintenance. and were about to start locking doors between 1st and 2nd class and get rid of guards ...... just before paddington crash.
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    Tree-Of-LifeTree-Of-Life Posts: 1,080
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    I like him, he comes across as a nice enough guy.
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    SULLASULLA Posts: 149,789
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    He's a bit of a poseur but I don't dislike him.
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    spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    valkay wrote: »
    No, he's a con man. When he started Virgin Airlines he set up a marketing company which ordered 1000s of Virgin Tee shirts from the company where my wife worked. He then put his company into administration and my wife's company never got paid, so they were all made redundant.

    whatever Branson's strengths might be, they dont seem to include a practical knowledge of the companies he fronts......
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    spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    remember ..... the Heathrow flight slots were given to him. And ntl acquisition simply meant buying a nearly bankrupt company and getting a monopoly in return .....
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    spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    .... im also not too impressed by his complete ignorance of 2nd law of thermodynamics ....... physics is science not PR.
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    spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    .... and we gave him a bank ! nice.
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    The PuzzlerThe Puzzler Posts: 7,689
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    I didn't really have an opinion about him before, but since he came out in support of cannabis legalisation, I like him very much. What we need is for many more high profile, and RESPECTED people like Branson to give their support to this cause.
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    spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    ..... something difficult Sir Richard? if he gets into education and starts Virgin Schools ....... THAT would impress me.
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    ZicoZZicoZ Posts: 7,642
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    rick182 wrote: »
    Yes but not aspergers

    Dificult to rule out tbh - the traits are so similar and overlap.
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    LucyGS*LucyGS* Posts: 92
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    He's rich. So I hate him. ;)
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    spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    I didn't really have an opinion about him before, but since he came out in support of cannabis legalisation, I like him very much. What we need is for many more high profile, and RESPECTED people like Branson to give their support to this cause.

    oh yeah a comment. if he starts smoking mild cannibis legally and responsibly and goes public on thatand funds a campaign ........ that might be slightly more effective .....
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    SULLASULLA Posts: 149,789
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    I didn't really have an opinion about him before, but since he came out in support of cannabis legalisation, I like him very much. What we need is for many more high profile, and RESPECTED people like Branson to give their support to this cause.

    We already have Cannabis legislation and he only put his oar in because he thought it would make him popular with impressionable young people
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