by Bower, Tom
‘“If you’re hoping to stand …”’ Wall Street Journal, 22 September 2006.
‘The Wall Street Journal concluded after hearing …’ Wall Street Journal, 22 and 25 September 2006.
‘Speaking three weeks later at a celebrity dinner …’ 17 October 2006.
‘A fortune would be earned …’ Sydney Herald, 26 April 2013.
‘He was guilty, wrote one analyst …’ Peter Lilley, ‘What’s Wrong with Stern?’ 31 August 2012, Global Warning Policy Foundation.
‘“Man created the problem …”’ Reuters, 9 February 2007.
‘“If I ground my fleet …”’ Associated Press, 25 June 2008.
‘“Thank God it’s happened …”’ Boston Globe, 19 August 2007.
‘The fund’s authenticity was …’ Financial Times, 20 February 2007.
‘In America, the fertilisers used …’ Almuth Ernsting, Biofuel Watch, 26 April 2013.
‘Governor Schwarzenegger offered $15 million …’ 21 December 2003
CHAPTER 4
‘Critically, Randy Chase was similarly reassured after …’ ‘Federal Aviation Administration, August 10, 2004, Nitrous Oxide’, Federal Register, vol. 69, no. 153, p. 48,549.
‘Friction causes heat, and that heat …’ For those interested in a fuller explanation: it is well known that the vapour or gas phase in many compounds ignites first, with the least amount of energy, well before the liquid phase. Although ignition in this configuration and scale has not been demonstrated as proof, it is apparent that vapours from the top of the tank entered the liquid stream. This could have been through a leak at the connection or in the body of the newly installed submerged drain pipe. Fluids flowing at sufficient velocity through small openings, as a vapour will, create friction and heat. Ignition occurred both at the top of the composite vessel and in the metal pressure vessel.
‘Virgin’s flawless publicity machine …’ Space, 23 January 2008.
‘Take-off, he said with certainty …’ Guardian, 25 January 2008.
‘but a Washington Post writer had described …’ Washington Post, 29 July 2008.
‘Just as Burt Rutan was about to speak …’ Guardian, 25 January 2008.
‘“Richard lives a certain lifestyle …”’ News Anchor, 21 August 2008.
‘“We’ve already had a number of inquiries …”’ ibid,
‘Unlike Branson’s fascination for space tourism …’ Wall Street Journal, 27 March 2008.
‘“The signal that we wanted to get across …”’ Aeronews, 30 July 2008.
CHAPTER 5
‘“Ridgway did reveal to Sir Richard Branson …”’ R v. George and others, Ref. T20080944, day 7, para 104.
‘That allegation would be repeated by a defence lawyer …’ ibid., William Boyce QC, representing Burnett, day 9, p. 89.
‘Or as another defence lawyer alleged, “Sir Richard …”’ ibid., day 10, p. 82.
‘If Virgin’s executives, with Branson’s agreement …’ ibid., day 7, p. 35, line 17.
‘To conceal Virgin’s financial reality …’ Wall Street Journal, 18 May 2004; Reuters, 30 August 2002.
‘Yet Branson, despite his financial problems …’ 8 May 2003.
‘Branson, as the champion of competition …’ Wall Street Journal, 4 March 2003.
‘He railed against BA’s new bid …’ Sunday Business, 27 November 2005.
‘Few ever quite understood his undisguised fears …’ R v. George and others, Ref. T20080944, day 7, pp. 51, 81.
‘Soon after the decision was taken …’ ibid., day 9, p. 89.
‘Moore reported to Branson that BA was briefing …’ ibid., day 11, pp. 13ff; day 7, p. 104.
‘Branson, it was alleged, did not want Virgin …’ ibid., day 9, p. 89.
‘The two men did, however, agree about …’ ibid., day 7, p. 98.
‘Moore told them, “You won’t believe the call …”’ ibid., day 7, p. 99.
‘Virgin’s two executives decided that the airline should …’ ibid., day 7, p. 99.
‘Weeks after the £6 surcharge was announced …’ ibid., day 7, p. 105.
‘Boulter reported his agreement with Burnett …’ ibid., day 7, pp. 104/5.
Acting as messengers, they agreed …’ ibid., day 7, pp. 108/17.
‘On 24 June, after more discussions …’ ibid., day 8, p. 3.
‘On the same day, Branson appeared on TV …’ ibid., day 9, p. 12.
‘Branson had discussed imposing a higher …’ ibid., day 9, p. 24.
‘Initially, Boulter explained, he was “reluctant” to …’ ibid., day 8, p. 25.
In an email sent to Virgin Atlantic staff …’ ibid., day 9, p. 21.
‘Pertinently, the prosecution would decide not to mention …’ ibid., day 15, p. 25.
‘Moore, for example, while implicating Branson …’ ibid., day 15, p. 33.
‘In his early statements, he always …’ ibid., day 15, p. 31.
‘One indignant executive even ordered …’ 3 April 2005.
CHAPTER 6
‘“Since our launch in November 1999 …”’ Reuters, 2 February 2002.
‘Many customers modified their handsets …’ Reuters, 1 October 2004.
‘There, Virgin Mobile was reported to have been …’ Dow Jones, 6 May 2002.
‘“There are no plans to change …”’ Reuters, 16 July 2004.
‘At the end of a tense trial …’ 30 April 2013.
‘The company was valued at £502 million …’ 22 July 2004.
‘Virgin Mobile’s position deteriorated …’ Reuters, 28 September 2004.
‘Virgin had been shunned and few …’ 6 April 2006.
‘Virgin would receive 0.25 per cent …’ Wall Street Journal, 5 April 2006.
‘“BSkyB is dominant …”’ Guardian, 28 April 2006.
‘Speaking from Necker, he described …’ Tom Bower, Branson (HarperCollins 2008), p. 374.
‘British broadcasting, he said …’ Dow Jones, 30 November 2006.
‘“A businessman’s job”, Branson admitted …’ Daily Telegraph, 22 November 2006.
‘Virgin Mobile in Canada would attract …’ Reuters, 13 March 2007.
‘While in the past Branson had aggressively attacked …’ Virgin Mobile v. Orange, March 2001.
‘“He never bothered to return …”’ Guardian, 5 March 2007.
‘The government, he said …’ Dow Jones, 5 March 2007.
‘Another 64,300 subscribers had been lost …’ Reuters, 2 March 2007.
‘His solution was for Virgin …’ Dow Jones, 21 August 2007; 11 November 2008.
‘He gambled that if the shares …’ The Times/Financial Times, 7 June 2007.
‘Next, he borrowed a further $80 million …’ Guardian, 15 May 2009; Financial Times, 12 September 2009.
‘During the preparations, he approved …’ Tom Bower, Branson (HarperCollins), p. 389.
‘Five months later, the share price …’ The Times, 14 March 2008.
‘Within a year of the flotation …’ Kansas City Star, 14 August 2008.
‘By the end of the year, Virgin Media’s shares …’ Daily Telegraph, 1 November 2008.
‘At the same time, Branson also withdrew …’ Daily Telegraph, 28 July 2009.
‘He had finally found a partner …’ Reuters, 14 April 2011.
‘In its potted description of the chairman …’ Guardian interview, 20 September 2007.
‘“Like Virgin Trains,” he said …’ 9 May 2007.
CHAPTER 7
‘In its first year, Eurostar carried …’ Tom Bower, Branson (HarperCollins), p. 199.
‘Instead, he relied on a consultants’ report …’ Guardian, 1 April 2004.
‘The pugnacious politician had already condemned …’ Tom Bower, Branson (HarperCollins), p. 292.
‘With skill, Virgin’s executives …’ 21 March 2007.
CHAPTER 8
‘“Richard broke my back,” he recorded …’ Tom Bower, Branson (HarperCollins), p. 270.
‘Despite Branson’s denunciation of those who …’ ibid., p. 206.
‘Virgin’s annual management fees …’ Daily Telegraph, 19 June 2009.
‘His philosophy had become famous …’ Tom Bower, Branson (HarperCollins), p. 204.
‘Branson was furious about AMP’s decision …’ Reuters, 4 December 2002.
‘In Screw Business as Usual, Branson described Virgin Money …’ Richard Branson, Screw Business as Usual (Virgin Books, 2011), p. 131.
‘His best idea was to launch a Virgin credit card …’ 12 May 2003.
‘Unlike AMP, Westpac refused …’ Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2010.
‘Branson had taken a punt …’ The Australian, 12 January 2006.
‘Four months later, before he had actually …’ Reuters, 18 March 2004; Australian Financial Review, 12 August and 18 October 2004.
‘The joint venture to provide insurance …’ Dow Jones, 26 June 2006.
‘Over the next five years, he added …’ Wall Street Journal, 15 October 2007.
‘The government’s loan to the bank …’ Alistair Darling, Back from the Brink (Atlantic, 2011), p. 26.
‘Days later, the prime minister announced …’ Dow Jones, 26 November 2007.
‘“We have made it clear …”’ Guardian, 30 November 2007.
‘Just before leaving from London …’ Dow Jones, 17 January 2008.
‘Cable returned to the attack. He described Branson’s bid …’ Financial Times, 13 December 2007.
‘“There are serious public-interest grounds …”’ Daily Mail, 9 February 2008.
‘Virgin’s bid, advised the government’s bankers …’ 21 February 2008.
‘Branson cursed that Brown …’ Agence France-Presse, 15 September 2008.
‘Two days later, a huge wave …’ Wall Street Journal, 23 October 2008.
CHAPTER 9
‘He added, unsmilingly, “We’re ready …”’ Reuters, 27 and 29 July 2009.
‘Alitalia, he added, should also …’ Daily Telegraph, 16 September 2008.
‘Virgin America’s unusual comfort …’ New York Times, 17 July 2007; Reuters, 8 July 2007.
‘Just ten months after the inaugural flight …’ Guardian, 18 June 2008; Associated Press, 10 September 2010.
‘“The bank’s demands”, Branson retorted …’ Reuters, 30 August 2002.
‘His litigation against the government …’ 6 December 2007
‘“I always travel with a bar …”’ interview, Daily Mail, 2 March 2009.
‘The apology from Virgin’s customer-relations department …’ Daily Telegraph, 26 January 2009.
‘The company’s flights to Mumbai were among …’ 12 March 2009.
‘Branson agreed that Nigerian businessmen …’ Reuters, 8 April 2005.
‘“The Nigerian government ignored …”’ The Times, 31 August 2008.
‘His appeal to President YarAdua …’ Financial Times, 20 August 2008.
‘“I think Branson needed to understand …”’ Reuters, 2 June 2010.
‘At the end of 2008, the airline’s …’ 27 August 2009.
‘In a financial crisis, Branson’s characteristics …’ The Times, 17 December 2009.
‘“At least if you’ve got a job …”’ Daily Telegraph, 9 February 2009.
‘“For some of you,” Branson wrote …’ The Times, 1 January 2008.
‘Although Julie Southern, Virgin Atlantic’s commercial manager …’ 10 April 2012.
‘“It’ll be the end of Branson …”’ Reuters, 13 September 2008.
‘In private, he admitted …’ Bloomberg, 14 August 2009.
‘In his letter to a man whom …’ Wealth, winter 2009.
‘Other statistics showed …’ Daily Telegraph, 13 August 2009.
‘But as Branson’s campaign developed …’ Daily Telegraph, 15 August 2008; The Times, 31 August 2008.
‘Branson, said Walsh, “should wake …”’ Daily Telegraph, 8 August 2009.
‘“Airlines”, he said, “risked alienating …”’ New York Times, 16 October 2009.
‘Branson’s condemnation was odd …’ 29 March 2009.
‘For years he had single-mindedly focused …’ Independent, 16 September 2002.
‘“I am absolutely delighted”, he exclaimed …’ Dow Jones, 10 July 2002.
‘Even Branson admitted that if HBOS had crashed …’ Fox News interview, 20 October 2008.
‘In July 2009, after Bishop activated …’ The Economist, 4 July 2009
‘“We would relish the chance to buy Gatwick …”’ 2 September 2008; 14 November 2008.
CHAPTER 10
‘“Oil is too precious to burn in cars …”’ Business Day, 1 August 2010.
‘Although global aviation was allegedly responsible …’ Friends of the Earth, 15 April 2013.
‘Over the following three days, he continued to jet …’ Toronto Star, 14 February 2008.
‘Friends of the Earth challenged …’ Friends of the Earth, 15 April 2013.
‘“Boeing has done five flights using biofuels”’ Guardian, 27 August 2009.
‘“Up to now,” he said, perplexingly …’ Daily Telegraph, 26 June 2009.
‘The manager of the fund, Shai Weiss …’ Independent, 11 August 2009.
‘Khosla sermonised about “the green-technology revolution” …’ Sunday Times, 29 March 2009.
‘including Tony Blair, who in 2010 agreed to join Khosla …’ Guardian, 25 May 2010.
‘The federal government advanced a $535 million loan …’ LA Times, 28 September 2011.
‘Despite receiving this money …’ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2 September 2012.
‘“Richard has been in touch with Jim Lovelock …”’ 27 September 2007.
‘“I want to give something back,” he said …’ Richard Branson, Screw Business as Usual (Virgin Books, 2011), p. 233.
‘With a smile acknowledging the applause …’ New York Times, 12 October 2009; Joel Kirkland, ‘Climate Wire’, New York Times, 22 April 2010.
‘He was baffled when Branson subsequently wrote …’ Richard Branson, Screw Business as Usual (Virgin Books, 2011), p. 291.
‘He even joined those demanding that carbon trading …’ 16 December 2009.
‘In his reliance on Will Whitehorn, Virgin’s …’ Daily Telegraph, 22 May 2008; Tom Bower, The Squeeze: Oil, Money and Greed in the 21st Century (HarperCollins, 2009), p. xx.
‘“I think a real collapse of oil prices …”’ Daily Telegraph, 16 September 2008.
‘Investing in a new refinery …’ Edinburgh Evening News, 11 May 2008; 31 May 2007.
‘On the same day in September 2009 that Branson …’ 22 September 2009; 24 September 2009
‘Its income from the trustees had fallen from $5.5 million …’ Carbon War Room accounts, 2011.
‘In another report, he now predicted …’ Guardian, 7 February 2010.
‘King pronounced in 2010 that the world’s oil …’ 22 March 2010.
‘Helped by Virgin publicists to appear on …’ 26 April 2010.
‘Unusually emotional, he told his audience that oil prices …’ 6 December and 14 December 2010.
‘“Because we’ve been believers that …”’ Financial Times, 10 August 2009.
‘“We’ve also been investing”, continued Whitehorn …’ Business Day, 1 August 2010.
‘The Department of Energy, he complained …’ Financial Times, 10 August 2009.
‘On the contrary, the proof gathered in America …’ 18 June 2011.
‘Branson himself had invested in Solazyme …’ Australian, 9 September 2008.
‘Under the banner of Virgin Unite, he cast business …’ Richard Branson, Screw Business as Usual (Virgin Books, 2011), p. xx.
‘The charity’s principal bequests were £209,000 …’ Virgin Unity Accounts, p. 31.
‘The accounts did not clarify all the bequests …’ ibid., p. 27.
‘The charity claimed to have generated
…’ ibid., p. 41.
‘The competition began to attract criticism …’ Sydney Morning Herald, 26 April 2013.
‘His carbon-capture schemes were described …’ ibid.
CHAPTER 11
‘Across the globe, his image as an intrepid buccaneer …’ 23 April 2009.
‘An attempt to launch Virgin Radio in Dubai …’ Guardian, 1 September 2007.
‘Branson blamed supermarkets for selling CDs too cheaply …’ Daily Telegraph, 19 November 2006 and 18 March 2009.
‘In Britain, after transferring twenty-two Megastores …’ Agence France-Presse, 17 September 2007; Dow Jones, 24 December 2008; Financial Times, 5 December 2009; Observer, 6 April 2008.
‘In New York, an attempt to launch Virgin Comics …’ The Times, 7 January 2006; Reuters, 27 November 2007; New York Times, 27 August 2008.
‘Virgin Vine, a new wine label …’ 15 January 2008.
‘… and Virgin abandoned the music business.’ Sold to Sheridan Square Entertainment of New York.
‘Within the first months, the £1,500 ($2,940) charge …’ Seattle Times/Merlin Biosciences, 2 February 2007.
‘In Miami, he told local journalists that Virgin …’ Miami Herald, 20 November 2005.
‘Once Ho realised that Branson …’ Dow Jones, 25 January 2007.
‘Virgin’s substitute was a virtual casino …’ 29 August 2010.
‘Casting around for other opportunities, Branson envied …’ Daily Telegraph, 31 January 2008; Reuters, 15 May 2008.
‘Ignoring his promise not to make a third attempt …’ Reuters, 2 April 2008; other sources 27 March 2005, 27 September 2009, 8 November 2009, 22 November 2009, 23 February 2010.
‘Pertinently, after the death of Steve Jobs …’ Daily Telegraph, 6 October 2011.
‘The mocked-up images of the tycoon flying …’ Time, 5 September 2010.
‘Branson’s hope, said Peter Norris …’ Mark Kleinman, Sky News, 4 November 2010.
‘“Formula One must tidy itself up …”’ Daily Mirror, 8 February 2009.
‘But after Button described the incident to Piers Morgan …’ Daily Mail, 7 July 2009.