Richard Branson
Photographer: Michael Nagle / Bloomberg
Photographer: Michael Nagle / Bloomberg
Richard Branson is expected to fly into space this year, but his fortune has already reached the stratosphere.
The billionaire has added about $ 2 billion to his net worth as stocks in early January since early January Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. climbed to a peak after a succession of positive events.
First there was Cathie Wood’s plan for one exchange-traded fund that tracks space-oriented companies. Then Virgin Galactic got sucked into the Reddit-fueled frenzy of retail investors shorting stocks. And finally the news on Monday that the company would resume flight testing of its rocket-powered space plane. The stock has more than doubled this year.
Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. had to be Saved from the brink of collapse last year, it now has a record value of $ 7.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His share of Virgin Galactic makes up nearly half of his fortune. Shares in the Las Cruces, New Mexico-based company rose 3.1% at 9:47 a.m. in New York, while many shares are popular with Reddit traders – including GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. – tumbled.
Space tourism is one of the latest bets from Branson, 70, a series maker of businesses ranging from record labels to soft drinks. Founded in 1970 as a mail order merchant, the Virgin brand is now linked to more than 40 companies worldwide, including the British bank Virgin Money UK Plc.
(Updates share performance in fourth paragraph.)