( CNN ) -- Richard Branson was born in 1950 and educated at Stowe School . It was here that he began to set up Student Magazine when he was just 16 . By 17 he 'd also set up Student Advisory Centre , which was a charity to help young people . In 1970 he founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer , and not long after he opened a record shop in Oxford Street , London . During 1972 a recording studio was built in Oxfordshire , and the first Virgin artist , Mike Oldfield , recorded `` Tubular Bells '' which was released in 1973 . This album went on to sell over 5 million copies . Since then many household names , including Belinda Carlisle , Genesis , Phil Collins , Janet Jackson and The Rolling Stones have helped to make Virgin Music one of the top six record companies in the world . Branson formed Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984 , and it is now the second largest British long haul international airline and operates a fleet of Boeing 747 and Airbus A340 aircraft to locations including New York , Hong Kong , Johannesburg and Tokyo . During 1997 Virgin took over Britain 's two most run-down rail franchises , CrossCountry and the West Coast Main Line . In addition to his own business activities , Branson is a trustee of several charities including the Virgin Healthcare Foundation , a leading healthcare charity which was responsible for the launch of a health education campaign relating to AIDS in 1987 . The Foundation has also become involved in a lobbying campaign called Parents Against Tobacco , which aims to restrict tobacco advertising and sponsorship in sport . His help in the initial funding of charity projects helped that organization to raise over £100 million ( $ 200 million ) , through campaigns such as Comic Relief and many other charities . To keep his adrenaline levels high , Richard has been involved in a number of world record-breaking attempts since 1985 . In 1986 his boat , `` Virgin Atlantic Challenger II '' rekindled the spirit of the Blue Riband by crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest ever recorded time . This was followed a year later by the epic hot air balloon crossing of the same ocean in `` Virgin Atlantic Flyer . '' This was not only the first hot-air balloon to cross the Atlantic , but was the largest ever flown at 2.3 million cubic feet capacity , reaching speeds in excess of 130 miles per hour ( 209 km/h ) . Still after the ultimate adventure , in January 1991 Richard crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Arctic Canada , the furthest distance of 6,700 miles . Again , he broke all existing records , with speeds of up to 245 miles -per hour in a balloon of 2.6 million cubic feet . E-mail to a friend .
Richard Branson set up Student Magazine at the age of 16 to start his empire . He founded Virgin in 1970 as a music retailer , then opened a recording studio . The company went public and became one of the biggest record labels on Earth with artists like David Bowie and U2.