Editing Richard Branson (section)

==Early life==
Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born on 18 July 1950<ref name="whoswho2">{{Who's Who|title=Branson, Sir Richard (Charles Nicholas)|id=U8562|volume=2014|edition=online [[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=18 July 2019 |title=Famous birthdays for July 18: Vin Diesel, Kristen Bell |work=[[United Press International]] |url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/07/18/Famous-birthdays-for-July-18-Vin-Diesel-Kristen-Bell/8771563155558/ |url-status=live |access-date=7 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719181941/https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/07/18/Famous-birthdays-for-July-18-Vin-Diesel-Kristen-Bell/8771563155558/ |archive-date=19 July 2019 |quote=Businessman Richard Branson in 1950 (age 69)}}</ref> in [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]], [[Royal Borough of Greenwich]], London, the son of Edward James Branson (1918–2011), a [[barrister]], and his wife [[Eve Branson|Evette Huntley Branson]] ({{Née|Flindt}}; 1924–2021), a former ballet dancer and air hostess.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/law-obituaries/8501350/Edward-Branson.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=Edward Branson | date=8 May 2011 | access-date=4 April 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408073321/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/law-obituaries/8501350/Edward-Branson.html | archive-date=8 April 2018 | url-status=live }}<br />– "Births", ''[[The Times]]'', 12 July 1950, p. 1</ref><ref name="fdnr1">[https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/finding-my-roots] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215161224/https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/finding-my-roots|date=15 February 2016}} ''[[Finding Your Roots]]'', 2 February 2016, PBS</ref> He has two younger sisters, Lindy and [[Vanessa Branson|Vanessa]].<ref name=SagaMar13>{{cite news|url=https://www.saga.co.uk/saga-magazine/2013/march/eve-branson.aspx|title=Like mother, like son|first=Nina|last=Myskow|date=13 March 2013|work=Saga magazine|access-date=5 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105104205/https://www.saga.co.uk/saga-magazine/2013/march/eve-branson.aspx|archive-date=5 November 2014}}</ref> His grandfather, [[G. A. H. Branson|Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson]], was a judge of the [[High Court of Justice]] and a [[Privy Councillor]].<ref>"Forthcoming Marriages", ''[[The Times]]'', 22 June 1949, p. 7.</ref>

Branson's great-great-great-grandfather, John Edward Branson, left England for [[India]] in 1793; John Edward's father, Harry Wilkins Branson, later joined his son in [[Madras]]. Starting from 1793, four generations of Branson's family lived in India, mostly at [[Cuddalore]], in modern-day [[Tamil Nadu]]. On the show ''[[Finding Your Roots]]'', Branson was shown to have 3.9% South Asian (Indian) DNA, likely through intermarriage.<ref name=fdnr1/> Later, he stated that one of his great-great-great-grandmothers was an Indian named Ariya.<ref>{{cite web|title=Billionaire Richard Branson Reveals India Connection In Insta Post|url=https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/billionaire-richard-branson-reveals-india-connection-in-insta-post-2147792|access-date=24 September 2020|website=NDTV.com|date=12 December 2019 }}</ref>

Branson was educated at [[Scaitcliffe School]], a [[Preparatory school (United Kingdom)|prep school]] in [[Surrey]], before briefly attending Cliff View House School in [[Sussex]].<ref name=Timesep98>Richard Branson. "At school I was dyslexic and a dunce.", ''The Times'', London, 11 September 1998, p. 19</ref> He attended [[Stowe School]], a [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|private school]] in [[Buckinghamshire]] until the age of sixteen.<ref name=Timesep98/>

Branson has [[dyslexia]], and had poor academic performance; on his last day at school, his headmaster, [[Robert Drayson]], told him he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defeat-dyslexia.com/2015/07/famous-dyslexics-richard-branson-entrepreneur/|title=Famous Dyslexics: Richard Branson (entrepreneur)|date=9 July 2015|website=Defeat Dyslexia |last1=Swinton |first1=Holly }}</ref><ref name=Timesep98/> Branson has also talked openly about having [[ADHD]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/8-of-the-worlds-most-successful-people-with-adhd/ |title=Learn About the Stories of 8 of the World's Most Successful People with ADHD |date=22 January 2020 |publisher=University of the People |access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref> Branson's parents were supportive of his endeavours from an early age.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Shavinina|first=Larisa&nbsp;V.|title=Micro-social factors in the development of entrepreneurial giftedness: the case of Richard Branson|journal=High Ability Studies|date=December 2006|volume=17|issue=2|pages=225–235|doi=10.1080/13598130601121482|s2cid=145055396|issn=1359-8139 }}</ref> His mother was an entrepreneur; one of her most successful ventures was building and selling wooden tissue boxes and wastepaper bins.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Virgin Way: Everything I know about leadership|last=Branson|first=Richard|publisher=Portfolio/Penguin|year=2014|location=New York}}</ref> In London, he started off [[squatting]] from 1967 to 1968.<ref>
{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/jul/21/3|title=Famous faces who took rent-free route|date=21 July 1999|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=6 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906161721/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/jul/21/3|archive-date=6 September 2018|url-status=live}}
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Branson is an [[atheist]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://celebanswers.com/what-religion-is-richard-branson/ | title=What Religion is Richard Branson? | date=10 August 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://nairobiwire.com/2016/05/top-10-most-famous-atheists-in-the-world.html | title=Top 10 Most Famous Atheists in the World | date=3 May 2016 }}</ref> He said in a 2011 interview with CNN's [[Piers Morgan]] that he believes in [[evolution]] and the importance of humanitarian efforts but not in the existence of God. "I would love to believe," he said. "It's very comforting to believe".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/05/25/living/gallery/atheists/index.html | title=Famous atheists and their beliefs | website=[[CNN]] | date=26 May 2013 }}</ref>