Virgin Trains Bailout: another example of “collaborative partnerships” between Branson and government

Richard Branson is one of those billionaire philanthropists we've been convinced is out to save the world. He jumps in to help “causes” he believes in, but how many of those causes are fronts, enabling corporations (including his own) to profit from bogus campaigns to save the environment or “reform” drug laws? (I'd be more interested in Branson if he were out there stumping for law removals rather than reforms.)

Branson, a British citizen, has often topped Inc.'s list of “most admired” businessmen. He works on “private” space ventures, just like Elon Musk, and that makes him cool. But despite this cutting-edge, long-hair entrepreneurial persona, Branson is not someone with a healthy distrust of centralized government. He kitesurfs with Barack Obama. He was knighted by the British monarchy. He campaigned for the UK to stay in the highly centralized European Union. Virgin Group is an example of a way over-centralized corporate entity: it controls more than 400 companies.

And in 2014, Branson wrote the following in Inc. about his “love/hate relationship with government”: “Private space enterprises like Virgin Galactic are standing on the shoulders of the giants that have come before us--and government is right there, letting us prove ourselves with NASA contracts for science experiments. While we are injecting resources and talent and creating a market for space travel, government works alongside us to regulate in a way that does not stifle innovation and that prioritizes safety and the growth of a brand-new industry.”

It's not just friendly regulations or corporate subsidies Branson appreciates – it's also the government contracts

So he defines what's otherwise corporatist collusion as a “collaborative partnership between innovators and regulators” and assures us this public-private partnership will improve innovation. Yet he says nothing about how partnering with government enriches his bottom line. And Branson is quite dependent on government handouts like the most recent bailout of his Virgin Trains company (of which he owns 10 percent) received from the British government.

Writing for The Guardian, Aditya Chakrabortty called Branson a carpetbagger: “Surveying his greatest business hits, from trains to planes to cable, my piece noted a common method: the Virgin boss liked to move into industries sheltered from too much competition, pull subsidies out of taxpayers and then cash out.”

Apparently, it's in Branson's DNA to seek private fortune from his partnership with government. His ancestor John Edward Branson set sail for Madras in the 1700s, an area ruled by the British East India Company -- a template of public-private partnership and lynchpin of European mercantilism.

But has he always complied with the government who lines his pockets? Not exactly. Back in 1971, Branson was alleged to have sold records in Virgin stores that were declared “export stock.” He avoided being taken to court at the time by paying an unpaid value added tax of 33% and a £70,000 fine.

The venn above includes information for various Virgin subsidiaries, including Virgin Group, Virgin Galactic, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and VOX Space.

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