A plane that gives tours in outer space, a private island that has a list of celebrity visitors longer than the Four Seasons, and a taste for adventure that prompts him to leap from planes, cliffs, and occasionally pilot boats and hot air balloons - this is Richard Branson.

The multi-billionaire is the founder of the Virgin brand. Branson has an estimated worth of $4.4-billion, and he seems intent on spending every penny of it. Branson has been married twice - Kristen Tomassi and Joan Templeman - and has two children, Holly and Sam. Branson was knighted in 1999 for his contributions.

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born July 18, 1950 in Blackheath, London, England. At a very young age, Branson had already decided that the music business was something he might want to venture into one day. By the time he was 16-years-old, Branson was already beginning his entrepreneurial ways by publishing a student magazine in high school.

Unlike many modern billionaires who inherited their parents businesses and went to fancy private schools and received formal educations, Branson failed to graduate even high school. He dropped out and spent a few years toiling around with ideas for a self-run business.

It was in 1970, at only 20 years of age that Branson and his friend Nik Powell began the Virgin brand. In the beginning, Virgin was a form of discount record venture where clients would receive their orders by mail. With the money this generated, Branson was able to quickly open a record store in London.

In 1972, he took the next step in his career and began a record label, Virgin Records. Branson was either extremely lucky or extremely good at his job, as his first produced single, Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, was a smash hit in 1973 and became a proverbial cash machine for Branson, staying on the UK charts for 274 weeks.

With this notoriety, Branson was able to sign other soon-to-be and already famous artists to Virgin Records. His clientele list in the beginning included Genesis, The Rolling Stones, Simple Minds, and The Sex Pistols. Virgin Records tore through the competition for the next three decades, earning massive revenue for Branson.

In 1992, Branson decided it was time to sell his interests in the label, and Thorn Emi purchased the label for $1-billion. However, Emi only purchased Virgin Records and not the Virgin Brand. Shortly after, Branson expanded, creating V2 and becoming one of the most recognizable brands in the UK.

To date, Branson has managed to open businesses in the UK, United States, Australia, Asia, South Africa, Canada, and parts of Europe. “Virgin” has an airline, megastores (think Wal-Mart for music), books, credit cards, trains, and even an online casino. Richard Branson is far from done expanding his business. At only 58-years-old, this billionaire plans to increase the Virgin Empire. Branson has even branched out to television with a successful reality show.