Movies
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The Iron Lady
A look at the life of Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Highly recommend the film The Iron Lady, has some powerful footage from the conflict, well worth a watch
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Human Flow
More than 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war, the greatest displacement since World War II. Filmmaker Ai Weiwei examines the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Over the course of one year in 23 countries, Weiwei follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretch across the globe, including Afghanistan, France, Greece, Germany and Iraq.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Excited to see @aiww’s new film #HumanFlow. An extraordinary achievement to raise awareness of the estimated 65.6 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.
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Mission Blue
Feature documentary about legendary oceanographer, marine biologist, environmentalist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle, and her campaign to create a global network of protected marine sanctuaries
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Watch @SylviaEarle stunning new film #MissionBlue, discover importance of protecting the ocean http://
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Sides of a Horn
The first film to tell the story of South Africa's poaching war from both sides of the fence. Based on actual events, and filmed in the townships and game reserves most directly impacted by wildlife crime, this dramatic short film paints an unbiased portrait of a modern war that is tearing apart communities and driving a pre-historic species to the verge of extinction.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Incredible trailer for new film @sidesofahorn – the first film to tell the story of South Africa’s rhino poaching war from both sides of the fence
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My Octopus Teacher
After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Congratulations to Craig Foster for My Octopus Teacher - first a BAFTA, now an Oscar. Well done on such a brilliant film - it really leaves you with a renewed sense of appreciation for all the wonderful life around us
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Kipchoge: The Last Milestone
Kipchoge: The Last Milestone follows record-breaking marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge's journey to becoming the first person in history to run a marathon in under two hours.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Brilliant film about Eliud Kipchoge and his incredible journey to breaking the two-hour-marathon barrier.
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Ferris Bueller's Day Off
After high school slacker Ferris Bueller successfully fakes an illness in order to skip school for the day, he goes on a series of adventures throughout Chicago with his girlfriend Sloane and best friend Cameron, all the while trying to outwit his wily school principal and fed-up sister.
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10
movies
Richard Branson's 10 Favorite Documentaries
What documentaries do billionaires watch? Here is a list of 10 favorite documentary movies Richard Branson really loves. He revealed that he has time to watch movies on a plane and actually loves going to theaters. Check out Richard Branson's top 10 doc movies!
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
What documentaries do billionaires watch? Here is a list of 10 favorite documentary movies Richard Branson really loves. He revealed that he has time to watch movies on a plane and actually loves going to theaters. Check out Richard Branson's top 10 doc movies!
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In My Blood It Runs
The story of Dujuan, a 10-year-old Aboriginal boy living in Alice Springs, Australia, who is struggling to balance his traditional Arrernte/Garrwa upbringing with a state education.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Australia's education system needs to change, and this film shows why.
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Just Mercy
The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned — including Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence. Bryan fights tirelessly for Walter with the system stacked against them.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
The film #JustMercy, Destin Daniel Cretton’s deeply moving criminal justice drama released this weekend, is a powerful reminder of the injustice that is America’s death penalty
Books
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A Virgin Island
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.
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Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was not only the psychological turning point of World War II: it also changed the face of modern warfare. From Antony Beevor, the internationally bestselling author of D-Day and The Battle of Arnhem.In August 1942, Hitler's huge Sixth Army reached the city that bore Stalin's name. In the five-month siege that followed, the Russians fought to hold Stalingrad at any cost; then, in an astonishing reversal, encircled and trapped their Nazi enemy. This battle for the ruins of a city cost more than a million lives. Stalingrad conveys the experience of soldiers on both sides, fighting in inhuman conditions, and of civilians trapped on an urban battlefield. Antony Beevor has itnerviewed survivors and discovered completely new material in a wide range of German and Soviet archives, including prisoner interrogations and reports of desertions and executions. As a story of cruelty, courage, and human suffering, Stalingrad is unprecedented and unforgettable.Historians and reviewers worldwide have hailed Antony Beevor's magisterial Stalingrad as the definitive account of World War II's most harrowing battle.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.
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The Emerald Mile
From one of Outside magazine’s “Literary All-Stars” comes the thrilling true tale of the fastest boat ride ever, down the entire length of the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, during the legendary flood of 1983.In the spring of 1983, massive flooding along the length of the Colorado River confronted a team of engineers at the Glen Canyon Dam with an unprecedented emergency that may have resulted in the most catastrophic dam failure in history. In the midst of this crisis, the decision to launch a small wooden dory named “The Emerald Mile” at the head of the Grand Canyon, just fifteen miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam, seemed not just odd, but downright suicidal. The Emerald Mile, at one time slated to be destroyed, was rescued and brought back to life by Kenton Grua, the man at the oars, who intended to use this flood as a kind of hydraulic sling-shot. The goal was to nail the all-time record for the fastest boat ever propelled—by oar, by motor, or by the grace of God himself—down the entire length of the Colorado River from Lee’s Ferry to Lake Mead. Did he survive? Just barely. Now, this remarkable, epic feat unfolds here, in The Emerald Mile.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained" may be a cliché, but it’s true. I’m constantly inspired by people who take on challenges to accomplish the impossible, which is why I chose The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko for my Literati Book Club this month.
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Island Girl to Airline Pilot
This is the incredible story of Silva Mcleod, the first Tongan woman to become an airline pilot, told with frankness and wit by Silva herself. Silva was a Tongan girl from a small island with little hope of anything beyond getting married and having babies. Her dreams of becoming an airline pilot seemed just that — dreams — until Ken McLeod came into Silva’s life. He was an Australian hired to build a hospital on her island of Vava‘u. She started dating him despite frowns from her family. After a whirlwind romance, they got married in a traditional Tongan ceremony before moving to Australia.Silva faced challenges in Australia as a woman of color. Then came the biggest challenge of all — Ken was diagnosed with cancer. He said to Silva, ‘Do you still want to fly? Life is too short, if you have a dream, go for it.’There were many barriers to succeeding in such a male-dominated field, but Silva refused to give in. She became the first Tongan female airline pilot and worked for the Royal Flying Doctor Service amongst other small airlines then Virgin International, flying B777s around the world. With every new height Silva reached in her career, Ken’s struggle with cancer continued. Despite the hardships, Silva is sure she would dare to do it all over again. Dare to love a white man and dare to pursue her dream to go from island girl to airline pilot.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Wonderful to see @VirginAustralia pilot Silva McLeod has published a book about her remarkable life – from a young girl on a small island in Tonga, to a pilot flying for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the #VirginFamily.
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Swallows and Amazons
'Swallows and Amazons for ever!'Rediscover this classic tale of adventure. The Walker children - also known as Captain John, Mate Susan, Able-Seaman Titty, and Ship's Boy Roger - set sail on the Swallow and head for Wild Cat Island. There they camp under open skies, swim in clear water and go fishing for their dinner. But their days are disturbed by the Blackett sisters, the fierce Amazon pirates. The Swallows and Amazons decide to battle it out, and so begins a summer of unforgettable discoveries and incredible adventures. EXTRA ACTIVITIES INCLUDED: Crack the Swallow's code and learn all about the adventurous author in the brilliant extra educational resources included in this edition.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
I took my grandkids out for a couple of days canoeing down an overgrown river. At times we were flat on our backs to get through fallen trees! It reminded me of my favourite book as a kid - Swallows and Amazons.
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The classic story of a boy who makes his own rules and the small Missouri town where he and his friends experience the adventures of a lifetime Filled with schoolyard pranks, buried treasures, spooky caves, secret gangs, and grave robbers, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is entertainment of the highest order. The clever schemes of its eponymous hero—from tricking his friends into completing his chores to sneaking into his own funeral—are the stuff of legend, and the cast of characters, including Huckleberry Finn, Becky Thatcher, Aunt Polly, and the Widow Douglas, is one of the most recognizable in American literature. A tale of friendship, fun, and intrigue that celebrates the rural life Mark Twain knew as a boy growing up on the Mississippi River, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer mixes good-natured humor with thoughtful consideration of serious issues such as race, religion, and the strictures of adult life. Amusing and insightful for readers of all ages, it is one of the most enduring novels in American literature. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.
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Beyond the Blue
To Aviation Journalist and experienced Test Pilot, Jim Campbell, a bird's eye view to adventure was a major part of his life... but little did he know that a chance meeting with revolutionary innovator, XPRIZE Founder Dr. Peter H Diamandis, would not only offer him some extraordinary sights, sounds and vistas, but challenge him personally and professionally to share the inspiring story of the extraordinary people and events that surrounded him. In the upcoming 180 page, lavishly illustrated, four color photo-book documenting this amazing experience, Campbell's "Beyond The Blue," provides unparalleled access to one of the most extraordinary periods in man's quest to reach for and beyond the stars. "I am so proud of this book. It is an incredible telling of the Ansari XPRIZE story and the journey to creating this breakthrough competition," said Dr. Diamandis. "This book will hopefully allow more people to understand the impact this competition had on the space travel industry." As a pivotal member of the massive XPRIZE team and community, Campbell's insider access and ever-present Canon cameras allowed him to catalog thousands of images, witness hundreds of incredible stories, and meet the kind of people who could not only change the world, but were well on the way to doing so. The summer of 2014 marks the beginning of a celebration of the pivotal first decade of innovation and world-changing activism on the part of the XPRIZE community. From the momentous June 21st, 2004 sub-orbital proving flight of Mike Melvill in the Burt Rutan-designed SpaceShipOne, to the actual spaceflights that won the 10 million dollar Ansari XPRIZE on to the earliest test flights of the Zero-Gravity Corporation and the Rocket Racing League and the heady, lofty days of the XPRIZE Cup, the start of the Google Lunar XPRIZE and the emotional journey of Professor Steven Hawking into the realm of weightless flight, 'Beyond The Blue' lays it all out with the kind of visual impact that is second only to having been there one's self.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.
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A Brief History of Time
In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold worldwide. That edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the origins and nature of the universe. But the intervening years have seen extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds. These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book, including the recent discoveries of the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), which probed back in time to within 300,000 years of the universe's beginning and revealed wrinkles in the fabric of space-time that he had projected. Eager to bring to his original text the new knowledge revealed by these observations, as well as his own recent research, Professor Hawking has prepared a new introduction to the book, written an entirely new chapter on wormholes and time travel, and updated the chapters throughout.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.
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Abundance
The New York Times bestselling “manifesto for the future that is grounded in practical solutions addressing the world’s most pressing concerns: overpopulation, food, water, energy, education, health care and freedom” (The Wall Street Journal).Since the dawn of humanity, a privileged few have lived in stark contrast to the hardscrabble majority. Conventional wisdom says this gap cannot be closed. But it is closing—and fast. In Abundance, space entrepreneur turned innovation pioneer Peter H. Diamandis and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler document how progress in artificial intelligence, robotics, digital manufacturing synthetic biology, and other exponentially growing technologies will enable us to make greater gains in the next two decades than we have in the previous 200 years. We will soon have the ability to meet and exceed the basic needs of every person on the planet. Abundance for all is within our grasp. Breaking down human needs by category—water, food, energy, healthcare, education, freedom—Diamandis and Kotler introduce us to innovators and industry captains making tremendous strides in each area. “Not only is Abundance a riveting page-turner…but it’s a book that gives us a future worth fighting for” (The Christian Science Monitor).
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.
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The Hobbit
This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected... ‘A flawless masterpiece’The Times Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day, to whisk him away on a journey ‘there and back again’. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon... The prelude to THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE HOBBIT has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most beloved and influential books of the twentieth century.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.
TV Shows
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Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby
Giles Coren and Monica Galetti travel the globe visiting some of the world's most incredible hotels. They go beyond the lobby to see the areas that the public never see and roll up their sleeves to work alongside staff.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Wonderful to show Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder around Kasbah Tamadot on the new season of Amazing Hotels on BBC2. You can watch the episode right here if you’re in the UK
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The Offer
Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy’s never before revealed experiences of making the iconic 1972 film The Godfather that Francis Ford Coppola directed and adapted with Mario Puzo.
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Really enjoyed watching The Offer – a Hollywood look at how The Godfather was created, with as many twists and turns as the classic film.
Music
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Don't You (Forget About Me) — Simple Minds
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Speaking about the track, Richard said: “They were a Glaswegian band and my wonderful wife is from Glasgow. We were all young. They were unknown band. We saw them in I saw them in a club. We signed them up.
“They're just delightful people and they write great songs. They're great musicians and they're still playing all these years later”.
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Karma Chameleon - Remastered 2002 — Culture Club
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
He recalled: I remember going to some a club called the 100. Club. Yes, on Oxford Street in London and seeing this extraordinary young man, he looked great. He's sang beautifully, he dressed beautifully, he had tremendous personality and that was Boy George.”
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Mike Oldfield
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
What music does Richard Branson listen to? His favourite musicians are Peter Gabriel and Mike Oldfield and his favourite band is The Sex Pistols.
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Peter Gabriel
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
What music does Richard Branson listen to? His favourite musicians are Peter Gabriel and Mike Oldfield and his favourite band is The Sex Pistols.
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No Woman No Cry
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
The song I want played at my funeral
Bob Marley – ‘No Woman, No Cry’
I live in the Caribbean [on Necker Island] and any Bob Marley song would be delightful. I’d have a Caribbean funeral with lots of good reggae bands. I’ve been living here since my 20s, when I found this lovely island.
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Tubular Bells
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
This was the first piece of music that Virgin Records put out. [Oldfield] was 19 years old and had recorded every single instrument on the album. I went to eight different record companies and nobody would put it out, so we decided to create our own record company and put it out. It literally sold millions of copies [‘Tubular Bells’ has sold more than 15 million copies to date]. That led on to us signing people like Peter Gabriel, Janet Jackson and the Spice Girls. Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Galactic may not be here today without ‘Tubular Bells’.
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Sex Pistols
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Having seen them live, I was determined to sign them even though they had already signed with EMI. I called the company’s president and said, ‘If you want to get rid of the Sex Pistols, I’m happy to step in.
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Podcasts
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Live Life Better
Live Life Better
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Richard Branson
Entrepreneur, Writer
Great podcast: episode two of #LiveLifeBetter explores how to be happy, healthy & mindful.
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