Branson: Behind the Mask

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Branson: Behind the Mask Page 37

by Bower, Tom


  and failed national lottery bid, 1

  film and TV appearances, 1, 2

  ‘free publicity’ of space flight, 1, 2, 3, 4

  hyperbole in US, 1

  image as a hindrance, 1

  interview technique, 1

  misleading advertising, 1

  newspaper advert on Northern

  Rock, 1

  photo-shoot in Euston, 1

  The Project guerrilla stunt, 1

  The Rebel Billionaire, 1

  sails for Virgin Money, 1

  San Francisco photograph, 1

  tank in Times Square, 1

  topless Virgin Mobile launch, 1

  TV adverts for Virgin Money, 1, 2

  value of F1 wins, 1, 2

  saving mankind

  banking as fairer wealth dist

  ribution, 1, 2, 3, 4

  drug decriminalisation, 1, 2

  Elders, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Global Zero, 1

  offers half his wealth, 1

  responsibility of wealth, 1, 2

  spend on tackling world’s

  problems, 1

  Sudan visit with Carter, 1

  as Virgin Care’s face on ceiling, 1

  wins Media Control prize, 1

  saving the planet

  airline initiatives, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  attacks shipping, 1, 2

  and ‘business as usual’, 1, 2

  Carbon War Room, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  clean fuels for F1, 1, 2

  contradictions of, 1, 2, 3, 4

  criticism from green movement, 1, 2, 3

  endorses ethanol, 1

  Energy Future Coalition

  appointment, 1

  Gaia Capitalism Project, 1

  at Global Sustainability Forum, 1

  Heathrow third runway

  support, 1, 2

  inconsistent on aircraft

  emissions, 1

  initial lack of enthusiasm, 1

  invests in biofuels, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  low-carbon-economy speech, 1

  meeting with Gore, 1

  on peak oil, 1, 2

  public perception of RB as

  green, 1, 2, 3, 4

  recruits idealists, 1

  San Francisco Terminal Two, 1

  $3 billion pledge, 1, 2, 3

  as UN ‘councillor’, 1

  urges US government on oil, 1

  use of bioethanol on trains, 1

  Virgin Earth Challenge, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Virgin Galactic as ‘green’, 1, 2, 3

  Virgin Green Fund losses, 1

  and Virgin Trains, 1, 2, 3

  and Virgin Unite, 1

  wildebeest initiative, 1

  wealth

  admits being tax exile, 1

  Australian capital-gains tax, 1

  borrowing from Credit Suisse, 1, 2

  built on taxpayers’ backs, 1

  buys real estate worldwide, 1

  Cable queries tax status, 1

  decline in, 1, 2

  determines negotiating style, 1

  dislikes rival tycoons, 1

  Ecclestone overestimates, 1

  fee for speeches, 1, 2, 3, 4

  lack of, 1, 2

  offshore deposits, 1, 2, 3

  offshore management, 1

  offshore ownership, 1

  opinion on tax, 1

  as publicity tool, 1

  on Russian oligarchs, 1

  sale of houses, 1, 2

  sale of Virgin Atlantic, 1, 2

  sale of Virgin Mobile, 1, 2, 3, 4

  sale of Virgin Music, 1

  secrecy of, 1, 2, 3

  tax fraud, 1, 2, 3

  tax-status restrictions, 1

  ‘uninterested’ in, 1, 2

  US commentators exaggerate, 1

  Virgin Group Holdings moves to Switzerland, 1

  Branson, Sam (son), 1, 2, 3

  Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship (Jamaica), 1

  Branson School of Entrepreneurship (Johannesburg), 1

  Brawn, Ross, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Brawn GP

  Barcelona trials (2009), 1

  Mercedes replaces Honda engine, 1

  Virgin sponsors, 1

  Virgin’s interest in, 1

  wins championship (2009), 1

  wins races (2009), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Brickner, Scott, 1

  Brin, Sergey, 1

  British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA), 1, 2

  British Airways (BA)

  AA alliance, 1, 2, 3

  abandons Concorde, 1

  better pay than Virgin Atlantic, 1

  BMI purchase, 1

  cargo cartel, 1, 2, 3

  Iberia merger, 1

  losses, 1, 2

  Nigerian flights, 1

  organic-waste fuel, 1

  Passenger Fuel Surcharge conspiracy, 1, 2, 3, 4

  RB’s attempts to humiliate, 1, 2

  Terminal 5 chaos, 1, 2, 3

  Virgin as relative minnow, 1

  Virgin’s ‘dirty tricks’ litigation, 1, 2, 3, 4

  British Rail, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  British Telecom (BT), 1, 2, 3

  Brown, Gordon

  and bank sell-offs, 1

  encourages Virgin Health Bank, 1

  and Murdoch, 1

  RB on Far East tour, 1

  RB’s closeness to, 1

  vacillates over RB’s Northern Rock bid, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Browne, John, 1

  BSkyB

  anti-Virgin adverts, 1

  Competition Commission report, 1, 2

  cuts programmes for Virgin, 1

  RB sells stake in BSB, 1

  RB takes on, 1

  subscriber numbers, 1

  Bulova, 1

  Burch, Steve, 1

  Burkle, Ron, 1, 2, 3

  Burnett, Alan, 1, 2, 3

  Burns, Iain, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Burrell, Richard, 1

  Burt, Sir Peter, 1

  Bush, George W., 1

  Business Council for Britain, 1

  Butamax, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Button, Jenson, 1, 2, 3

  Cable, Vince, 1, 2

  Camelot, 1, 2, 3

  Cameron, David, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Cameron, James, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Campbell, Carolynne, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Campbell, Naomi, 1

  Carter, Jimmy, 1

  Casino Royale (film), 1, 2

  Cathay Pacific, 1

  Cebriain, Al, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Cellnet, 1

  Channel 5 (TV station), 1

  Channel Islands, 1

  Chase, Randy, 1, 2

  Cheglakov, Andrei, 1

  Cheong, Choong Kong, 1

  Church House Trust, 1

  Cilion, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  CircleLending, 1, 2

  Citibank, 1

  City of London

  distrusts RB, 1, 2, 3, 4

  RB takes on, 1

  Virgin Direct’s PEPs, 1

  Virgin Mobile flotation, 1

  Clark, Christy, 1, 2

  Clark, Dave, 1

  Clementi, David, 1

  Climate Group, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Clinton, Bill, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  Clinton, Hillary, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Clinton Global Initiative, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Clinton Institute, 1

  Coca-Cola, 1

  Cohen, Ben, 1

  Colby, Luke, 1, 2

  Collins, Tony

  compensation from Railtrack, 1, 2

  F1 interest, 1

  as Virgin negotiator, 1, 2

  and West Coast franchise, 1, 2, 3

  Columbus, Christopher, 1

  Competition Commission (UK), 1

  Competition and Consumer

  Commission (Australia), 1

  Conservative/Lib Dem coalition (2010–)

  RB seeks action on oil cartel, 1

  RB supports, 1

  and West Coast franchise, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Corbett, Ge
rald, 1, 2, 3

  Corrigan, Chris, 1

  Cowell, Simon, 1

  credit crunch see financial crisis

  Credit Suisse, 1, 2

  Cricket (personal trust), 1

  Cross Country franchise, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Crowe, Bob, 1

  CVC Capital Partners, 1

  Cyrus Capital Partners, 1

  The Daily (iPad newspaper), 1, 2

  Daly, Geoff, 1, 2, 3

  Darling, Alistair, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Darnell, Mike, 1

  Darzi, Lord Ara, 1

  De Niro, Robert, 1

  Delta Air Lines, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Department of Energy, 1

  Department of Health, 1

  Department of Trade and Industry, 1

  Department of Transport, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  Derek, Bo, 1

  Deutsche Telekom, 1, 2

  Diamond, Neil, 1

  Directly Operated Railways (DOR), 1

  DirecTV, 1

  Donaldson, Giovanni, 1, 2, 3

  Dubai International, 1

  Duffell, Ian, 1

  Duffy, Simon, 1

  Dupont, 1

  Eales, Darryl, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  East Coast line, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  easyJet, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Ecclestone, Bernie, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Eddington, Sir Rod, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Edmonds, John, 1, 2, 3

  Edwards Air Force Base, 1

  Effective Cosmetics, 1

  EMI, 1, 2

  Emirates (airline), 1

  Emmerson, Ben, 1

  Energy Future Coalition, 1, 2, 3

  Enterprise, VSS, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1

  environmentalism

  Earth Hour, 1

  ethanol as problem, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  ethanol as solution, 1

  Gore-RB meeting, 1

  Gore’s film, 1, 2

  Khosla’s losses, 1

  Lovelock’s space dream, 1

  non-ethanol biofuels, 1, 2, 3

  Schwarzenegger as ‘Emissions Terminator’, 1

  shipping’s carbon footprint, 1, 2

  solar industries, 1, 2

  Stern Report, 1, 2

  UN Copenhagen conference (2009), 1, 2

  US military’s commitment on oil, 1

  see also under Branson, Sir Richard; oil

  Ernst & Young, 1

  Etihad, 1

  Eurostar, 1

  Evans, Christopher, 1, 2

  Express Newspapers, 1

  Farrow, Mia, 1

  FBI, 1

  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), 1, 2, 3, 4

  Ferrari team, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Fields, Randolph, 1, 2, 3

  financial crisis (2007–8)

  first signs of, 1

  F1 as ‘panacea’, 1

  and green business, 1, 2, 3

  hits Virgin hard, 1, 2

  Honda leaves F1, 1

  opportunities for Virgin, 1

  RB relaunches Virgin Money US, 1

  Virgin Atlantic’s losses, 1, 2

  Virgin Blue’s losses, 1

  Financial Services Authority (FSA), 1

  FirstGroup, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Flannery, Tim, 1, 2, 3

  Forbes magazine, 1, 2, 3

  Formula One

  Abu Dhabi GP (2010), 1

  Australian GP (2009), 1

  Bahrain GP (2000), 1

  Barcelona trials (2009), 1

  British GP (2009), 1

  cost of running team, 1, 2, 3

  Honda’s departure, 1

  Malaysian GP (2009), 1

  Monaco GP (2009), 1

  Monaco GP (2010), 1

  Mosley’s budget–limit plans, 1, 2, 3

  Singapore GP (2010), 1

  Turkish GP (2009), 1

  see also Brawn GP; Virgin Racing; and under Branson, Sir Richard

  Fossett, Steve, 1, 2

  Foster, Norman, 1, 2

  Fox, Martha Lane, 1

  Fox, Vicente, 1

  Fox TV, 1, 2, 3

  Friends (TV series), 1

  Friends of the Earth, 1, 2

  Fry, Nick, 1, 2

  Fuentes, Carlos, 1

  Furze-Waddock, Paul, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Gadhia, Jayne-Anne

  lacks banking experience, 1, 2

  manages Virgin One, 1

  negotiates on Northern Rock, 1, 2, 3

  promotes Virgin Money, 1

  returns to Virgin, 1

  Virgin Money as pure bank, 1

  Gaia Capitalism Project, 1

  Galactic Girl (RB’s jet), 1, 2, 3, 4

  Gates, Bill, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Gatwick airport, 1

  Gazzard, Jeff, 1

  General Electric, 1

  Gevo, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Global Commission on Drug Policy, 1

  Global Sustainability Forum, 1

  Global Zero, 1

  Godfrey, Brett, 1, 2

  Goh, Choon Phong, 1

  Goldman Sachs, 1

  Goldwater, Barry, 1

  Goodstuff, 1

  Goodwin, Fred, 1

  Google, 1, 2

  Gore, Al, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Gormley, Rowan, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Gotham Entertainment, 1

  Graystone Solutions Inc., 1

  Great Western line, 1

  Greater Rochester Enterprise, 1

  Green, Chris, 1, 2, 3

  Green, Philip, 1

  Green Road Technologies, 1

  Greening, Justine, 1, 2

  Griffiths, Martin, 1

  Gromov, Rotislav, 1

  Grubesic, John, 1

  Grundy, Mark, 1

  Gyngell, Kathy, 1

  Haidar, Bassim, 1

  Hammond, Scott, 1

  Hanks, Tom, 1

  Hansen, James, 1

  Hardiman, Polly, 1, 2

  Harvey, Emma, 1

  Hassan, Basil, 1, 2

  Hatfield rail crash (2000), 1, 2

  Hawking, Stephen, 1, 2

  Hazmat, 1

  HBOS, 1, 2

  Heathrow airport

  celebrity photo scandal, 1

  raids on BA offices, 1

  RB against BA/AA alliance, 1

  RB persuades on converting waste to fuel, 1

  RB supports third runway, 1, 2

  RB’s biofuel stunt, 1

  slot ownership, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Terminal 1 chaos, 2, 3, 4

  Virgin Atlantic loses protection, 1, 2

  Henderson, 1

  Herbert Smith (solicitors), 1, 2, 3

  Hill, Vernon, 1

  Hinchliffe, Peter, 1, 2, 3

  Ho, Edmund, 1

  Holmgren, Jennifer, 1

  Homans, Rick

  confidence in Spaceport America, 1

  on RB, 1

  RB entertains on Necker, 1

  vision for Spaceport, 1

  writes RB’s speech, 1

  Honda Racing, 1, 2, 3

  House of Commons Transport Committee, 1, 2

  Howard, Stephen, 1

  HS2, 1, 2

  Huff, Bill, 1

  Hurricane Katrina, 1

  Al Husseiny, Mohamed, 1

  Iberia, 1

  Ibrahim, Jimoh, 1

  Imperium Renewables, 1

  An Inconvenient Truth (film), 1, 2

  Interbrand, 1

  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 1

  International Air Transport Association (IATA), 1

  International Maritime Organization (IMO), 1, 2, 3

  International Space Station, 1, 2, 3, 4

  internet

  anti-Virgin campaign, 1

  banking, 1

  and CircleLending, 1

  unifying all Virgin brands, 1, 2

  Virgin Connect, 1

  on Virgin Trains, 1

  Virgin’s failure to u
tilise, 1, 2, 3, 4

  for Virgin’s iPad magazine see The Project

  Invesco Perpetual, 1

  ITV, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  J. C. Flowers, 1

  J. P. Morgan, 1, 2, 3

  Jackson, Lisa, 1

  JetBlue Airways, 1

  Jetstar Airways, 1

  Jobs, Steve, 1, 2, 3

  John F. Kennedy Airport, 1, 2

  Kenyan Tourist Federation, 1

  Khosla, Vinod

  abandons ethanol plants, 1

  ethanol pledge, 1

  as ‘ethanolite’ with top Democrats, 1, 2, 3

  ignores critics of ethanol, 1

  inexperience with ethanol, 1

  LanzaTech investment, 1

  losses and insolvencies, 1, 2

  pine-tree ethanol, 1, 2

  as RB’s link with Blair, 1

  skill with state subsidies, 1, 2

  solar industries, 1

  Kidlington Mill, Oxfordshire (RB’s estate), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  King, Sir David, 1

  King, John, 1, 2, 3

  King, Sean, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Knight, Alan, 1

  Knowles, Anna, 1, 2

  Kreeger, Craig, 1

  Kutcher, Ashton, 1

  Kwarteng, Kwasi, 1

  Labour government (1997–2010)

  appoints director of railways, 1

  dissolves SRA, 1

  FirstGroup awarded Great Western franchise, 1

  loan to Northern Rock, 1

  Murdoch’s breakfast offers, 1

  NHS reorganisation, 1, 2

  Prescott on RB, 1

  RB endorses, 1

  RB objects to Murdoch’s ITV stake, 1, 2

  RB switches to Tories, 1

  RB wants money for trains, 1

  and RB’s bid for Northern Rock, 1, 2, 3, 4

  supports Murdoch on ITV, 1

  turns against Railtrack, 1

  Laidlaw, Sam, 1

  Landeene, Steve, 1

  Lanigan, Mark, 1

  LanzaTech, 1, 2

  lastminute.com, 1

  Latham, Richard, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Lauda, Niki, 1

  Leggett, Jeremy, 1

  Lendia, 1

  Liberty Global, 1

  Lionheart (yacht), 1

  Little, Paul, 1, 2

  Llewellyn, Ed, 1

  Llosa, Mario Vargas, 1

  Lloyds Bank, 1, 2

  Lloyds Development Capital (LDC), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Locke, Gary, 1

  London Underground, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Los Angeles International Airport, 1

  Lovelock, James, 1, 2, 3, 4

  LoveSac Corporation, 1

  Lowdon, Graeme, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Lufthansa, 1, 2, 3

  M&G, 1

  McCall, Patrick, 1, 2, 3, 4

  McCallum, Gordon

  conservatism of, 1

  criticises RB on Virgin Mobile sale, 1

  sceptical about F1, 1, 2, 3, 4

  as shadowy, 1

  suggests Virgin Mobile, 1

  Tantum pitch, 1

  unenthused by The Project, 1, 2

  and Virgin Care, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Virgin Mobile flotation, 1

  McCarthy, Rory and Tim, 1, 2

  Mackay, David, 1, 2

  Mackenzie, Donald, 1

  McLaren team, 1

 

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