Richard Branson

[Subteigh]

I real admire this guy, not sure of his type though (I guess INFp though).

[Typeless Wonder]

I always thought of him as ESTp. I read about him at Wikipedia just now and he seemed interested in starting charities even as a teenager which I found interesting. The reason I thought he was ESTp is because I had read how he seems to just aggressively capitalize on already existing services and products and has a penchant for adventurous and risky undertakings. For instance, he's starting up Virgin Galactic to sell flights to the edge of the space, but he didn't dream up the idea himself, he just saw other people working on the concept and decided to jump on the band wagon. But then again, I'm probably just engaging in stereotypes.

[Subteigh]

I suppose it's possible if you put it like that . I consider ENTp as well, but it didn't seem to fit. He always seems to be polite but firm in his positions (which he knows well, so is justified). Yet he seems really nervous in interviews - he visibly shakes sometimes - he seems unable to assert himself physically and gives people the benefit of the doubt (as though what they say is plausible but...). His label signed the Sex Pistols when no one else would, and he seems to have political vigour (but not in a suck-uppy way...I'm pretty sure he's Alpha or Beta (more certain of Beta now though ). I always seem to confuse INFps with ESTps for some reason - they both have a similar way of looking unsure, but I presume this depends on the context.

[FDG]

Looks ENFp to me honestly.

[Expat]

I suppose it's possible if you put it like that . I consider ENTp as well, but it didn't seem to fit. He always seems to be polite but firm in his positions (which he knows well, so is justified). Yet he seems really nervous in interviews - he visibly shakes sometimes - he seems unable to assert himself physically and gives people the benefit of the doubt (as though what they say is plausible but...). His label signed the Sex Pistols when no one else would, and he seems to have political vigour (but not in a suck-uppy way...I'm pretty sure he's Alpha or Beta (more certain of Beta now though ). I always seem to confuse INFps with ESTps for some reason - they both have a similar way of looking unsure, but I presume this depends on the context.

These are very good observations. His behaviour in interviews is consistent with Se HA types, Ni EJs.

He's not an ESTp. If Beta, he's ENFj, but I think that ENTj-Ni is slightly more likely.

[Smilingeyes]

I've always thought of him as an ESFj poster boy. He dresses too well for an ENTj IMO and he's got a penchant for stupid, nonconventional stunts that goes beyond the occasional posturing and grand schemes of the ENTj. He went transvestite once to make a point to his board members. He showed up in an episode of 'Friends' as a street vendor and has cameo appearances in several films.

The non-imaginativeness that was suggested as a reason for him being ESTp is also a reason to put him as a sensory type though ESTp he is not.

Expat's suggestion of ENTj is somewhat reasonable. I don't have a huge problem with the idea of INFp either, but I still think ESFj.

Hmmm... further...

From the Wiki:

Early years: captain of cricket and football teams.
Two failed ventures, one selling budgerigars, the other selling christmas trees.

Opened first charity when 17.

After getting a court settlement from British airways, divided the proceedings amongst his staff!

Got into trouble with the law for selling export records in-country.

Signing a whole lot of weirdo artists on Virgin records... First hit: Tubular bells. (Really good stuff though)

I don't see this guy as focused or visionary. To me he seems like succeeding through personal energy. Trying anything. Smells alpha.

If anything he seems to care little about money, nothing about beating competition and mostly about having fun. Really alpha. If not ESFj, ENTp slightly possible.

Branson is a person whose kind theoretically should not be able to succeed in business. He's not practical, he has no overarcing plan or business-model. He doesn't care about money but scatters it generously. Take of that what you will.

[Subteigh]

Wow, some really interesting points. It seems like every type under the sun has been suggested, which means I'm even more intrigued about what his type could be. He seems to have a childish sort of behaviour (i.e. maybe Alpha\Beta), but he also sounds like those ENTj descriptions (like the one on socionics.com), where they go off doing pranks and so on. I have no idea what his type is, but some interesting interpretations .

[thePirate]

Looks ENFp to me honestly.

Very enfp. Also fits the description of him

[jewels]

totally enfp. I read an article and he sounded so very ENFp. He also looks it.

[Ezra]

Branson's case has interested me for a while. He is the Jesus of rugged individualism; if you want to prove capitalism works, choose him. I honestly think he is ILE. He is just full of so many ideas, it's insane. He just knows how to work anything. At the same time, I just can't see him as Beta (save maybe EIE). I think his next likely type is LIE. I know this sounds silly, but I think it's more to do with how I'm reading what he is like, rather than the fact that he is closer to Fe or Te, Se or Ne, or whatever. Either what I am seeing are ILE traits, or I am mistaking said traits for ILE traits, and they are actually LIE traits. Anyway, the way he'll just get up and go with an impulse is incredible. But it's not an impulse in the Se sense. He has far too many good ideas to be Se. He doesn't observe the current situation, then draw deductions in a Se way. He does it in a Ne way. He just sees something, and then throws his ideas out. I read that he was stuck on an island once, waiting for a plane. Then he came up with this really cheap as shit flight from the island back home. Another one was that his Virgin airways hostesses were expected to wear shitloads of make up, and pay for it at the same time. But this wasn't good. So he gave every hostess a make up kit. Then there is Virgin make up anyway.

Yeah, that sounded like an unstructured stream of consciousness, but I really do want you to get the gist of how I'm thinking so as to decode my thoughts about him.

[Subteigh]

A story about him today:
BBC NEWS | Scotland | Branson in 'patronising' rail ad

I personally think that's rather brilliant, but I suppose I can see the point of those criticising him.

[Subteigh]

I probably accept the IEE typing at the moment partly because it is easier to see a HA than a one (e.g. when comparing to someone like Bill Gates). He reminds me a little of Tony Blair in a bullshitty way I was thinking (although I'm fairly sure TB isn't a IEE).

[Tearsofaclown]

I also wanted to add I am a fan of him. He has a learning disability. Dyslexia. Really bad at academic stuff but great elsewhere. People with dyslexia tend to make more money than the general population. They have the highest percentage of millionaires. It may be because everything comes so hard for them they must work harder.

Branson is obviously in the airline business, which is a notoriously tough business. He said the easiest way to become a millionaire is to become a billionaire and then get in the airline business. lol. Always liked that.

Richard Branson Interview: "How Dyslexia Made Me"



Richard Branson was a billionaire and 50 years old when one of his Virgin Group directors sensitively ushered him out of a boardroom and drew a picture to demonstrate the difference between net profits and gross turnover.
“He had a sheet of paper that he had already coloured in blue and he drew a fishing net in a blue sea with fish in the net,” Branson tells me in an interview.
“He told me: ’I don’t think you know the difference between net profits and gross turnover’.
“I had to admit that I didn’t, so he said: ‘Well, the fish in the net are your profit and the rest is your turnover’.
“Of course, I thought it was the other way around and that we were much wealthier than we were. But I now name-drop net profits and gross turnover to everyone I come across in business.”


The point of the story is that Branson describes himself as “badly dyslexic”. However, he adds: “It doesn’t matter a damn if you want to be an entrepreneur. It helps if you can add and subtract but that’s about all you need to know.
Today In: Leadership



“What matters is how you deal with people and whether you can create businesses that are really customer-focused and a step ahead of the competition.
“If you can create something that really makes a difference to peoples’ lives, more money will come in than goes out and you will survive.”


https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewc.../#2893667258c7

[mr provocateur]

He is a huge LIE

[Alive]

LIE

[Wavebury]

My first impression was ESE. I saw him typed as LIE in several places and that may be the case. An LIE Normalizing subtype would be more concerned with fitting in and the like, which seems to be case with Branson. He wants to be liked, which could be explained by the fact he is a 3w2.

The thing with ESE is that I see no evidence that he is focused on creating emotional atmosphere in social situations. Then again, I see no evidence he doesn't. He doesn't seem as "rugged" as you would expect from LIE. But then again, he's British, a 3w2, and possibly Normalizing.

I think the choice is between LIE and ESE (I see positivism and EJ temperament, so it's a choice between these two types), the former explaining his business ventures, especially his tendency not to give up when things failed, the latter explaining his positive and cheerful energy and attitude. Obviously being succesful in business and even not giving up on these things seems is not particular to LIEs. As SmilingEyes pointed out too, he doesn't seem like a visionary, which is what you would expect out of an LIE entrepreneur (ie Bill Gates).

So Hugo it is.

[Poptart]

I think he’s SEE

[Poptart]

Maybe LIE

[Poptart]

https://www.virgin.com/branson-famil...s-close-shaves

[Northstar]

I just viscerally can’t stand the sight of his face, it’s infinitely punchable. You could try to make a neural network create a perfect slimy scumbag persona but even it couldn’t do better than this guy already is. His corpse-like ”smile” is the ugliest I have ever seen so probably Te type. It’s between IEE and LIE but his childishness and style maybe fits the former better.