Editing Richard Branson (section)

==Influences==
Branson has stated in a number of interviews that he has been much influenced by non-fiction books. He most commonly mentions [[Nelson Mandela]]'s autobiography, ''[[Long Walk to Freedom]]'', explaining that Mandela was "one of the most inspiring men I have ever met and had the honour to call my friend." Owing to his interest in humanitarian and ecological issues, Branson also lists [[Al Gore]]'s best-selling book, ''[[An Inconvenient Truth (book)|An Inconvenient Truth]]'', and ''[[The Revenge of Gaia]]'' by [[James Lovelock]] among his favourites. According to Branson's book, ''Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life'', he is also a fan of [[Jung Chang]]'s ''[[Wild Swans]]'' and [[Antony Beevor]]'s ''[[Stalingrad (Beevor book)|Stalingrad]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Richard Branson's reading influences |url=http://www.infloox.com/person?id=7bb9503d |publisher=Infloox.com |access-date=26 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905035652/http://www.infloox.com/person?id=7bb9503d |archive-date=5 September 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Branson |first=Richard |year=2011 |orig-year=2006 |title=Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8klTYCfVzEC&pg=PA105 |location=New York |publisher=Random House |page=105 |isbn=978-0753547458 |access-date=30 May 2017}}</ref> In fiction, Branson has long admired the character [[Peter Pan]],<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Branson |first=Richard |date=12 November 2012 |title=Richard Branson on How to Use Age to Your Advantage |url=http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224902 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201015724/http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224902 |archive-date=1 December 2012 |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Entrepreneur (magazine)|Entrepreneur]] |access-date=30 May 2017}}</ref> and in 2006, he founded [[Liquid Comics|Virgin Comics LLC]], stating that Virgin Comics will give "a whole generation of young, creative thinkers a voice".<ref>{{cite news |last=Gardner |first=Chris |date=5 January 2006 |title=Branson Taking a Passage to India |url=https://variety.com/2006/scene/markets-festivals/branson-taking-a-passage-to-india-1117935558/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=30 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805102631/http://variety.com/2006/scene/markets-festivals/branson-taking-a-passage-to-india-1117935558/ |archive-date=5 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsarama.com/virgincomics/virgincomics.htm |title=Branson Enters Comics with Virgin Comics, Virgin Animation |access-date=7 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060111162748/http://www.newsarama.com/virgincomics/virgincomics.htm |work=[[Newsarama]] |archive-date=11 January 2006 }}</ref>