A Tale of Two Bransons
When many folks hear ‘Branson,’ they often think of the popular Midwestern tourist destination, located in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks. But there just happens to be another Branson – a ‘Sir Branson.’ This Sir Branson, more specifically, Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson, is an English businessman, investor, and billionaire. According to Forbes magazine, Sir Richard Branson is the seventh richest citizen in the United Kingdom; after starting his first business at 16 years old, Sir Branson has continued to grow his wealth and his companies underneath the Virgin brand and now, he’s got his eye on the Live Entertainment Capital of the Midwest – it’s time for a Branson family reunion of sorts.
What exactly led Branson to Branson? It started when Sir Richard Branson began to do a little digging into his ancestral roots, a pastime he became interested in when he became a grandfather, or a ‘grand-dude,’ as he prefers to be called. In his research of the Branson line, Branson found, well, Branson. Sir Richard just happens to be the great-great nephew of Rueben S. Branson, the founder of a once wild town full of wild cats and outlaws, known for its vigilante clans and good fishing – Branson, Missouri. “While I have been fortunate to build more than 400 companies, Reuben built a whole city,” Sir Richard admiringly notes in a self-written article on www.virgin.com. He mistakenly thought that his family’s roots were firmly entrenched in British soil – but once this entrepreneurial knight realized he was wrong, he turned his thoughts to the now civilized town that many people call home and even more vacation to.
In tweets posted on Twitter, Sir Richard Branson said that he was “exploring opportunities in Branson – want to paint the town red” – red is the color of all of Sir Richard’s Virgin companies, like Virgin mobile and Virgin Airways. The Chamber of Commerce and other citywide organizations are all very excited to see what the man worth $4.8 billion might be bringing to town – “I think first and foremost, the PR value across a greater, broader demographic –across the world, is huge to Branson,” said Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce President Jeff Seifried in an interview with OzarksFirst news. He also noted that the economic benefits for Branson, from Branson, could be extremely positive.
There is still speculation about what Sir Richard might have planned for the booming Midwestern town – but whatever it may be, the eye of the public is going to remain on Branson…both of them!
