One of the things to keep in mind is the kind of leverage Branson employs and how he uses it to reduce his own capital investments in the businesses. If the businesses go belly up, the damage to Brason's wealth for his Virgin start ups are actually quite minimal.
Virgin Atlantic was started with virtually no capital up front, the outlay was small -- something like $500K with a low-cost lease on one airplane.
There are a few other businessmen who take a similar approach. Sam Zell is probably one of the most famous, his Tribune buyout was largely regarded as a failure but even so, the actual impact to his own personal wealth was minimal.
Virgin Atlantic was started with virtually no capital up front, the outlay was small -- something like $500K with a low-cost lease on one airplane.
There are a few other businessmen who take a similar approach. Sam Zell is probably one of the most famous, his Tribune buyout was largely regarded as a failure but even so, the actual impact to his own personal wealth was minimal.
Deal structure is really key in these situations.