Exclusive Interview: Sir Richard Branson

By Marcy MacDonald

With a phone permanently attached to one ear, the Virgin king, Sir Richard Branson, conducts business waist-high in the swimming pool on one of his own personal Virgin Islands. Even though Virgin America reputedly lost $175 million last year, it's been voted the best new airlines in the country; and according to Wikipedia, Branson is still No. 236 on the Forbes' billionaire list with an estimated net worth of $4.4 billion. Not bad for a kid who quit school at 14.