I've been very lucky. I come from a very close family. I'm also in a relationship that's been really good. Lasted a long time. We've got wonderful kids from that relationship, and they've had the benefit of being together. It's fantastic to have that sort of togetherness. It's a rarity these days.

Having colleagues nearby, whether at the beach or in a crypt, means the ideas are always flowing

We've always had a pretty competitive and pretty ferocious battle with British Airways... It's lasted now about 14 years, and we're very pleased to have survived it.

We must rapidly wean ourselves off our dependence on coal and fossil fuels.

My mother always taught me never to look back in regret but to move on to the next thing. The amount of time people waste dwelling on failures rather than putting that energy into another project, always amazes me. I have fun running all the Virgin businesses-so a setback is never a bad experience, just a learning curve.

Entrepreneurial business favours the open mind. It favours people whose optimism drives them to prepare for many possible futures, pretty much purely for the joy of doing so.

The entrepreneurs who succeed usually want to make a difference to people’s lives, not just their own bank balances.