Britain’s most famous entrepreneur: hero or villain?

An interesting recent article in the Economist takes a look at Richard Branson from opposing viewpoints. From ballooning to buying Gatwick Airport, biofuels to space travel – Branson is Britain’s most famous entrepreneur.

Read the article and judge for yourself. Is he the publicity generating genius who has built a business empire from scratch? The alternative view is that he is a cunning and ruthless operator with a knack for undermining his rivals. The shared consensus view seems to be that he has a winning way with people and an ability to inspire loyalty from his team.

One aspect of the tycoon’s skills came as a bit of surprise: how often he has wriggled free of insolvency. He is obviously restless and utterly driven, spending recent years focussing more on the United States and Asia than his original UK base (though, as with his Gatwick and Northern Rock bids, he is never far from the headlines).

It’s hard to forecast where his story will end. He seems to favour business growth over (short term) profit maximisation. But with his business empire increasingly focussed around aviation, these must be troubling times for Britain’s most famous entrepreneur.