Finding My Virginity: The New Autobiography

Overview
Richard Branson’s Finding My Virginity picks up where Losing My Virginity left off, charting the two decades in which Virgin evolved from a sprawling challenger brand into a global ecosystem spanning airlines, banking, media, health, hospitality, and space. The narrative weaves boardroom drama with life on Necker Island, threading through crises, adventures, and a sustained argument that business can be both disruptive and a force for good.

Building the Virgin Universe
Branson recounts how Virgin kept entering markets where complacency had set in. Virgin Mobile scaled as a nimble, customer-first carrier. Virgin Money took on British banking by acquiring Northern Rock out of the financial crisis and reimagining branches for service rather than sales. In the United States, Virgin America battled foreign ownership rules and incumbent resistance to become a beloved airline, later floated on the stock market and eventually sold to Alaska Airlines, a decision he opposed but accepted as a fiduciary outcome. Virgin Atlantic deepened its transatlantic reach through a joint venture with Delta. He sketches the launch of Virgin Hotels and the growth and partial exit from Virgin Active, illustrating how the Virgin brand licenses out and partners to stay light, fast, and culturally consistent.

Betting on Space and Technology
The book’s central arc is the long bet on space. Inspired by Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne and the X-Prize, Branson commits to building a commercial spaceline with Virgin Galactic. He details the exhilaration of early progress, the complexity of propulsion and safety, and the 2014 SpaceShipTwo test flight tragedy that killed pilot Michael Alsbury. The grief, investigation, redesign, and recommitment form a study in resilience. Parallel to Galactic, he advances LauncherOne, later spun out as Virgin Orbit, aiming to democratize small-satellite launches from a modified 747. Branson frames these ventures as moonshots that can catalyze science, climate monitoring, and global connectivity.

Trials, Shocks, and Resilience
Crises drive much of the momentum. After 9/11, he fought to keep Virgin Atlantic afloat without sacrificing staff-first values. The 2008 financial crisis tested every balance sheet and sharpened Virgin’s partnership model. He relives the government’s botched 2012 West Coast rail franchise award, overturned after legal challenge. Personal setbacks punctuate the corporate storms: the 2011 fire that razed Necker’s Great House, his near-fatal 2016 cycling crash, and the devastation of Hurricane Irma across the British Virgin Islands. Each episode becomes a lesson in preparedness, community, and rebuilding with purpose.

Leadership, Culture, and Brand
Branson returns to core principles: put employees first, empower frontline judgment, obsess over customers, and keep the brand playful and human. He favors small, decentralized teams, protecting the downside while encouraging bold bets. The Virgin name, he argues, earns trust when it challenges ossified incumbents with better service, transparent pricing, and a sense of fun. Social media and direct communication let him listen, apologize, and iterate in public.

Global Causes and Networks
Beyond business, he chronicles building coalitions for change. The Elders, catalyzed by Nelson Mandela and supported by Virgin Unite, work on conflict resolution and human rights. The Carbon War Room, later merged with Rocky Mountain Institute, and The B Team push market-based climate solutions. He champions drug policy reform, opposes the death penalty, and backs sustainable aviation fuels, microgrids on Caribbean islands, and a multi-billion-dollar pledge to reinvest profits into low-carbon innovation.

Family and Perspective
Amid launches and lawsuits are scenes with his wife Joan, children Holly and Sam, and grandchildren, alongside tributes to friends and mentors such as Steve Fossett and Mandela. The throughline is a restless optimism: embrace risk, learn loudly from failure, and use success to widen opportunity. The result is a candid snapshot of an entrepreneur still testing boundaries while arguing that purpose and profit can scale together.