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The Heartless Felon
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Richard Branson doesn’t deserve taxpayers’ money
Tom Bower
Wednesday April 22 2020, 12.01am BST, The Times
Pleading from his sun-kissed Caribbean island for a taxpayer bailout for Virgin Atlantic, Richard Branson must rank as the least deserving tycoon in the Treasury’s long list of casualties asking for financial help. Pledging Necker, the shabby headquarters of his tax exile, as collateral for a £500 million government loan adds insult to injury.
Branson wants a loan from the same tax system he has spent his entire career avoiding. His justification for wanting our money is unimpressive, not least because the loss-making airline is nearly half owned by Delta, an American company.
The British love chancers and over the years Branson has both delighted and appalled millions of people as a self-made entrepreneur who has created and manipulated the Virgin brand through a wily media machine. Throughout a career launching dozens of businesses, including music, mobile phones, trains, health, wine, fashion and banking, his finances have been concealed in offshore tax havens — not only the Caribbean but also in Switzerland, which became the headquarters of his fortune-saving operation to license the Virgin brand.
Until now, the mystery has been whether his businesses are worth the £4 billion he claims and whether he deserved the accolade of Britain’s most successful tycoon. The same smokescreen was vital to his obsessive tax avoidance.
Penetrating the true value of Virgin has always been made impossible by his secrecy. Virgin Health, for instance, has consistently reported losses so no taxes are payable in Britain. Others, like Virgin Galactic, his failed bid since 2004 to send a rocket into space, are also huge loss-makers. Many businesses including Virgin Trains relied on securing government licences or monopolies by controversial methods.
Now he has hit the moment of truth. To rank alongside genuine tycoons such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk who have built proper rockets, Branson has always exaggerated his wealth. But it’s been mostly a hand-to-mouth illusion. The reality of Virgin Atlantic’s creation and survival has been nasty. Built out of a pernicious battle with BA and the humiliation of its then chairman Lord King, Virgin Atlantic has only survived because of its guaranteed privileges at Heathrow. Without the landing slots, the airline would be worthless.
Asking for a taxpayer bailout of a loss-making airline is offensive. Let it collapse. There are other British airlines such as Easyjet which could take over. As Branson said not so long ago, “Capitalism has lost its way”. He should rank among the casualties.
Tom Bower is the author of Branson: Behind the Mask
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