Virgin Group founder Richard Branson elevated himself from being a jailbird to flying high as a billionaire Virgin entrepreneur - David Shankbone - Photo

Dating couple Jeremy and Sandy are in the Amazing Race final but their relationship appears to be in trouble - Sonja Flemming/CBS photo

Snowboarders Andy Finch and Tommy Czeschin surprisingly were eliminated last week after dominating the Amazing Race winning 6 of 11 legs - Sonja Flemming/CBS photo

Engaged couple Ernie and Cindy are in the Amazing Race final - Sonja Flemming/CBS photo

Video Beat EXTRA - Part 2 - RICHARD BRANSON DOES IT HIS WAY - AMAZING RACE USA FINAL

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

Richard Branson took chances by putting his life on the line and spent time in jail just to be like a Virgin. In his rolling his dice for life he has come up with 7's and 11's while throwing a few snake eyes along the way. The result being he's a success story worth $4 billion. - A surprising final three vie for the Amazing Race USA title and the $1 million first prize after the most dominate team in the race slip up in the semifinal - Recommended TV Listings

Sunday December 11, 2011

BALLS TO THE WALL LIKE A VIRGIN

From the tax evasion conviction Virgin founder Richard Branson righted his ship and as he said from then on he made sure that his business was ethically correct.

He took on people to run his business but was strong minded about how things should be done. When there was conflict with his partners or personnel he fired them or he bought out their interests in the business. The problem stemmed from his enthusiasm to grow the Virgin business which created a conflict with some of his partners or executive staff. One partner felt that there wasn't enough money to support the growth. Branson's attitude was that he loved to double down on his bets but wouldn't advise it to anyone else. He noted that he put up his house for collateral several times to fund a new business venture.

With success came failure as his Virgin Bride and Cola projects failed miserably. His Virgin Mobile sell phone business is a major success.

Virgin trains had a rocky start but after years of not meeting its schedule is running on time. Poor infrastructure was a major factor in the delay of its success. When Branson started Virgin Airlines he leased a plane from Boeing. His main competition was from the giant and well established British airlines. They reacted with propaganda which led to a slander lawsuit that Branson won $1.1 billion.

With his balls to the wall mentality Branson overcame his lack of money to purchase advertising to promote his airline. He overcame that shortcoming by doing stunts such as boating and balloon flying which brought free media attention and exposure to his Virgin brand, His balloon flight over the Atlantic Ocean caught the media's attention for several days and in the process gained an abundance of FREE media to Virgin.

His adventures almost cost him his life but he continues to explore the new frontiers. The airline is now thriving. It finally made its first profit in the 3rd quarter of 2010 after losing $400 million over the years. To keep the airline afloat he had to sell Virgin records which brought tears to his eyes. The tears disappeared when he saw news headlines that the sale brought in $1 billion.

His Virgin brand is now associated with 300 services or products. He personal worth is said to be $4 billion.

One of Branson's future projects is to fly people into space including his mother who was an airline stewardess.

Those who know the brash Englishman say that he's not doing adventure stunts strictly for the publicity but he thrives on the thrill of it all. One of his associates compared him to a cross between Evel Knievel and Ted Turner but as Branson declared about himself and Virgin, "I will continue to challenge myself, challenge my children and challenge the people around me and have a blast (doing it)."

VIDEO BEAT EXTRA - Part 1 - GAME CHANGERS - MARC ANDREESSEN & RICHARD BRANSON

AMAZING RACE USA FINAL

It's down to the final three in the Amazing Race USA version. In last weeks semifinal when the top four teams raced to qualify for the finale there was a shocking result. Pro snowboarders Andy Finch and Tommy Czeschin were eliminated after being the most dominating team throughout the race in winning six of eleven legs of the competition.

Although they are out of the running for the $1 million first prize the two friends did win the biggest prizes in finishing first at the end of a leg of a race. Each won a new Mustang automobile that they could customize to their individual tastes as well as a credit card from Discover Card valued at $15 thousand to share.

They also earned for winning:

# Leg 2 - A trip for two to Ireland

# Leg 3 - A trip for two to Dubai's Atlantis, The Palm

# Leg 4 - US$5,000 each

# Leg 6 - A trip for two to the British Virgin Islands

Fighting it out for the title and the $1 million prize that goes with it is former NFL player Marcus Pollard and his wife Amani. They have finished 1st twice. Engaged couple Cindy and Ernie who have finished 1st once also qualified for the final.

The third team is dating couple Jeremy and Sandy who have also finished 1st only once and that came in the last week's semifinal leg of the race. Throughout the race this couple has been arguing and their relationship and future relationship could be in trouble. Their communication in the final will be the most interesting of the three teams given their conflicts and temperament. So who will win? Be there or be square Monday night on the AXN Network in Southeast Asia or tonight Sunday in the USA on the CBS Network.

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