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# How Richard Branson Made His First Million

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FwF1ezuQ.m3u8" -->
## Video: How Richard Branson Made His First Million

[Watch (HLS stream): How Richard Branson Made His First Million](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FwF1ezuQ.m3u8) (2:04)

![How Richard Branson Made His First Million](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/FwF1ezuQ/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2014-07-30. Richard Branson journey to a million started from an unlikely source: The Exorcist._


---

Jul 27, 2023 5:04 PM UTC

---

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### 10 Questions for Richard Branson

---


## Transcript

[ MUSIC ] Richard Branson has proved that a businessman can make a lot of money and have fun while doing it. Branson is founder and chairman of Virgin Group which runs airlines, telecom companies, financial services companies. Health club, travel agencies, wine stores. It's even launched a business to take people into outer space. Five seconds to go, unlocking. Alright. [ UNKNOWN ] Branson is worth an estimated $ 5 billion, a fortune that has enabled him to indulge in expensive hobbies. [ MUSIC ] And fund humanitarian initiatives. But how did he make his first million? Believe it or not, there's a connection to the 1973 horror film The Exorcist.

The Holy Spirit. Damien. Back in the early 1970s. Branson, then in his 20s, was already an entrepreneur. In the future, we'll be able to talk to each other with our with our thumbs! Born and raised in London, Branson had launched a magazine, a counselling service, a mail- order record business, and a chain of music stores. He and his partner dreamed of starting a record label. And in 1973, they released their first four albums. Three of them sold well enough. But the fourth, by an unknown position named Mike Oldfield, was a massive hit, Tubular Bells. The album sold millions of copies and went on the soundtrack for The Exorcist.

The Exorcist. One of the top grossing movies of the year. The success of Tubular Bells kick started the Virgin music label. God save the queen. Which Branson sold in 1992 for nearly a billion dollars. And as Branson wrote in his autobiography, his gamble on Tubular Bells, quote, made us our first fortune.

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