The billionaire who left school at 15 to run a magazine: ”I knew I would make money”

Richard Branson is a British magnate, today the 12th richest person in the United Kingdom and owner of the multinational conglomerate Virgin Group, made up of more than 360 companies. He himself left school when he was only 15 years old, to found Student magazine. The reasons he gave in a recent episode of the “Armchair Expert” podcast were simple: He assures that at that moment he already knew that he would earn money with it.

Thus, the young Branson began making cold calls to various companies, asking them to run ads against their competitors. The then 15-year-old raised between $3,000 and $4,000 for his magazine. In addition, the director of his school was stunned by his persuasiveness.

On the podcast, Branson commented, “I knew I could afford printing and production, so I dropped out…with the director telling me that ‘I would either go to jail or become a millionaire‘” While his first warning was not followed through, his second was. Today, Richard Branson has an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion.. And it is that once he succeeded with the magazine, the British billionaire created an empire that would absorb airlines, hotels or casinos, among others.

A different vision of life

The tycoon confesses that one of his main reasons for leaving school was that he thought that the traditional curriculum did not provide him with anything relevant or interesting. For example, at the time, he wanted to learn about the Vietnam War (which was taking place) and not about geometry.

“There were many things I wanted to learn, but not what the math or French teachers taught me. “This is why I ended up opening a magazine, to give young people a voice with their frustrationsBranson says.

It should be added that as a young man he had dyslexia, and He says that for this reason his grades were quite mediocre. Also, in 2019 he published that this learning disorder is often associated with elevated levels of creativity and problem-solving skills.

These skills are not enough

“There are also other qualities that will be in high demand in the world of work. The imaginationtogether with creativity and the problem solving abilitys, will be in great demand with the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the automotive sector,” he added. But Branson indicates that this is not enough to, after leaving school at the age of 15, found an empire like his. And it is that Goods or services demanded must be identified, as well as how to monetize them.

In accordance with a report carried out by the accounting firm Ernst & Young, business skills must go hand in hand with other soft skillshighlighting a high emotional intelligence or critical thinking.

These are qualities that the British billionaire affirms that he has more than assumed. “I learned at a young age the importance of bringing out the best in people. What I realized is that I needed to surround myself with people who were better at things I’m not good at.because of my dyslexia,” he explained.

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The billionaire who left school at 15 to run a magazine: ”I knew I would make money”