Richard Branson

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Celebs Got Seat at State Dinner
 Celebs Got Seat at State Dinner 
Mar 15, 2012 6:34 AM CDT

Celebs Got Seat at State Dinner

George Clooney, 'Downton Abbey' actors, John Legend in attendance

(Newser) - British Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Samantha were the honorees at last night's state dinner, but the real VIPs were the other 350-something people who managed to score a ticket. Among them: George Clooney (who sat next to Michelle Obama at the head table, but of course), Warren...

Kate Winslet Dishes on Dramatic Rescue

We saved what was important, she says of house fire

(Newser) - Kate Winslet, actress, plastic surgery disavower , and hero , has spoken out after rescuing Richard Branson’s mother from a fire at the Virgin tycoon’s Caribbean home. “I’m just so glad that everyone is safe. And this very easily could not have been the case,” she tells...

Kate Winslet Saves Richard Branson's Mom in Fire

Actress carries 90-year-old woman to safety

(Newser) - Titanic star Kate Winslet appears to be a good person to have around during a real emergency. All 20 guests escaped unharmed after a fire ripped through Richard Branson's luxury home on a private Caribbean island early yesterday—including the billionaire's 90-year-old mother, who was carried to safety...

Richard Branson Creating Lemur Island

Billionaire giving Caribbean island to endangered primates

(Newser) - Mogul Richard Branson has a spare Caribbean island that he's planning to turn over to some of the world's most endangered species. The billionaire plans to create a colony of lemurs on the undeveloped island in the British Virgin Islands. The primates are rapidly disappearing from their native...

Branson to Pilot Sub to Deepest Spots on Earth

Mogul plans journeys to bottom of earth in Virgin Oceanic Expeditions

(Newser) - Billionaire adventurer Richard Branson has turned his attention to the least known part of our planet: the ocean. Branson unveiled plans yesterday to send a deep-sea submarine to five of the deepest points on Earth, reports the Los Angeles Times. Fellow adventurer Chris Welsh will pilot the craft to the...

Space Tourism May Warm Planet

Rockets send soot into stratosphere

(Newser) - Space tourism may sound, well, out-of-this-world, but there is a good chance it will pollute this world, possibly contributing to global warming. As firms like Boeing prepare to launch space tourism businesses , a new study warns that the soot emitted by commercial rockets may get stuck in the stratosphere, notes...

Virgin Galactic Spacecraft Makes First Solo Flight

Private spacecraft on course to take paying passengers to space

(Newser) - The world's first manned commercial spacecraft has reached a major milestone. Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo was released from the mothership and completed its first solo glide flight over the Mojave Desert yesterday, Wired reports. The craft, which is undergoing rigorous testing ahead of plans to carry paying customers to space and...

Space Plane Takes First Test Flight

Mothership and spaceship flew for 3 hours in 'captive carry' test

(Newser) - Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo took to the skies for the first time yesterday over the Mojave Desert, an important step toward passenger flights in space in 2011. “This is a momentous day,” says Burt Rutan, who built the craft and its mothership for Richard Branson’s company. The...

On the Horizon: Space Flights for $475

Cheap, sub-orbital trips could be reality in a decade

(Newser) - Need a vacation? Aerospace engineer Burt Rutan says in the next 10 years a flight to space may be as cheap as $475. In an interview with BigThink , the space pioneer who famously designed the first plane to fly around the world without stopping explains how he, under the auspices...

Branson Unveils SpaceShipTwo
 Branson Unveils SpaceShipTwo 
Dec 8, 2009 1:21 AM CST

Branson Unveils SpaceShipTwo

Billionaire unveils first tourist spacecraft

(Newser) - Virgin Galactic chief Richard Branson yesterday rolled out the vessel he hopes will soon take thousands of people into space. Some 300 clients who already paid a deposit on the entrepreneur's $200,000 space travel tickets were on hand as SpaceShipTwo was unveiled at a hangar in Mojave, Calif., CNN...

Virgin Soars as BA Posts Record Loss
 Virgin Soars 
 as BA Posts 
 Record Loss 
EARNINGS REPORTS
May 26, 2009 5:37 AM CDT

Virgin Soars as BA Posts Record Loss

Branson's airline doubles profits year-on-year

(Newser) - Virgin Atlantic announced today that its annual profits had nearly doubled to $109 million, while its rival British Airways posted a record annual loss of $638 million. According to the Times of London, Richard Branson's airline increased its market share and drew substantial revenue from its premium services. Virgin, which...

Branson's Next Launch: Virgin Internet Bank

Exploiting the public's discontent with banks, Virgin could bid for Northern Rock

(Newser) - Capitalizing on public disgust with Britain’s big banks, Richard Branson plans to launch an Internet bank through subsidiary Virgin Money that will take deposits and offer mortgages, the Guardian reports. Branson is talking to investors and some US banks about financial backing and could set in motion more ambitious...

UK Billionaires' Ranks Halved in Downturn

Wealthiest lose collective $228B

(Newser) - The number of UK billionaires has been almost cut in half by economic woes, from 75 to 43, with the country’s wealthiest having lost a collective $228 billion, the Times of London reports. The hardest-hit was steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who remains Britain’s richest man despite having lost...

'Sexist' Airline Ad Riles Up UK TV Viewers

Virgin Atlantic defends spot; standards board says it's 'humorous'

(Newser) - A Virgin Atlantic TV ad featuring female flight attendants strutting through Heathrow Airport while harried male passengers ogle them is not sexist, Britain’s advertising watchdog has ruled. The ad, celebrating Virgin’s 25th anniversary, drew 29 complaints, reports the Telegraph. Critics cried stereotyping; the independent Advertising Standards Authority said...

Hiker Brings 'Closure' for Fossett Widow

Calif. man fields thanks from Branson before fleeing spotlight

(Newser) - The widow of adventurer Steve Fossett, whose wrecked plane was found this week in the Sierra Nevada mountains, reached out personally yesterday to the hiker who played the key role in the discovery, the LA Times reports. Peggy Fossett thanked outdoorsman and sporting-goods salesman Preston Morrow for the chance to...

Top 50-Something Studs
 Top 50-Something Studs 
OPINION
Sep 27, 2008 8:39 PM CDT

Top 50-Something Studs

The WowOWow ladies list their picks

(Newser) - Older men can be sexier than callow youths, such as Leonardo and Brad—or so the ladies of WowOWow report, in their list of the top 50 sexiest men over 50. The elite:
  • Rocker Bruce Springsteen
  • Author James Patterson
  • TV host Charlie Rose

Branson's Aircraft: Beyond Space Tourism

Applications include satelites, drones and studying climate change

(Newser) - Though space tourism is an exciting feat in itself, it’s just the beginning of the possibilities for Virgin Galactic’s White Knight Two, the Economist notes. The carbon-composite plane doubles as a spaceship’s first stage, and is capable of launching satellites, transporting replacement engines, and facilitating the study...

Branson Rolls Out Space Plane

Craft could make first commercial flight—at $200K per ticket—by decade's end

(Newser) - At a remote airfield in the Mojave Desert today, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson unveiled the flagship of his new venture, an aircraft that will carry the first passenger space rocket to its launch height of 48,000 feet, the Los Angeles Times reports. Tickets are going for $200,000-plus,...

Did Air Ace Fossett Fake His Death?
Did Air Ace Fossett
Fake His Death?
Jul 28, 2008 3:05 AM CDT

Did Air Ace Fossett Fake His Death?

Questions surround disappearance

(Newser) - Air adventurer Steve Fossett may have faked his own death, reports the tabloid News of the World. No wreckage was ever found after Fossett disappeared last year in a light plane over the Nevada desert. Fossett didn't bother to wear his GPS watch—and he may have had strong motives...

Space Tourism Gets New 2-Seater

Calif. company is second aiming to take passengers to new heights

(Newser) - California's XCor Aerospace is jumping aboard the space-tourism bandwagon with a new rocket plane, the Los Angeles Times reports. For $100,000, one passenger at a time will be able to ride the Lynx to 200,000 feet and feel about 90 seconds of weightlessness. With flight tests beginning in...

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