Watch the Water

Richard Branson Doesn't Have a Drop to Drink

Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.

(Bloomberg Opinion) – Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur and occasional poet, spends much of his time on his private island, Necker, indulging a passion for kite surfing. And he’s risked life and limb crossing the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in a hot-air balloon. But it’s only in the past few days that the above line from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” will have begun to resonate as regards his financial affairs.

On Monday he penned an extraordinary public letter appealing to the British government to provide an emergency loan to prevent the collapse of transatlantic carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., which he owns jointly along with Delta Air Lines Inc. of the U.S.

Travel restrictions to curb the new coronavirus have walloped Branson’s travel and leisure holdings. He’s already spent $250 million to support his various Virgin Group portfolio companies, but most of his $5.9 billion net worth isn’t “sitting as cash in a bank account ready to withdraw,” Branson said. That has forced him to consider the drastic step of mortgaging his beloved Caribbean island home, which doubles as an ultra-expensive retreat.

On one level Branson’s predicament is simple, and pretty common for someone about to turn 70: He’s asset rich, and cash poor. But considering his pretty relaxed approach to business, Branson’s financial arrangements — spanning his British Virgin Islands tax residency and a portfolio of often debt-laden holdings — are as complicated as they come.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/richard-branson-doesnt-drop-drink-073028187.html