Billionaire Richard Branson Says It's "Sad" If Money Is the Only Focus of Your Life — 'We Only Have One Life'

In the midst of backbreaking inflation and squeezing household savings, millions of Americans spend most of their time thinking about money — the next bill to pay, the upcoming car payment and that overdue rent. 

But billionaire Sir Richard Branson thinks there's more to life than just money, and you should find a higher purpose and meaning in your work instead of just using it to survive.

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Talking to CNBC, Richard Branson, worth $2.6 billion, said we spend a lot of time at work and it'd be "sad" if we are doing it only for money.

"We only have one life. We spend a lot of time at work and it'd be sad if we're only doing it for our paychecks," Branson said.

Richard Branson, born in 1950 to a barrister in London, is known for founding Virgin Atlantic airline in 1984 and spaceflight company Virgin Galactic in 2004. He suffered from Dyslexia in high school and dropped out at the age of 16. On his last day, Branson's headmaster told him he'd either end up in jail or become a millionaire. 

Branson Finds it "Quite Insulting" to be identified as a Billionaire

Despite his success, Branson doesn't like to be identified as a billionaire. He finds it "quite insulting" to be introduced as "the billionaire Richard Branson."

Branson said nobody should be defined in terms of their net worth as he thinks it's "sad" to see making money becoming the sole purpose of people's lives.

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After dropping out of high school, Branson started a magazine called "Student" for young audiences. However, the magazine struggled due to financial troubles. Branson meanwhile started a mail-order record business to complement his magazine operations, and his family pitched in to help, too. In another interview, Branson shared how a gift from his mother prevented the magazine from going under.

But Branson insists that even during his magazine days, money wasn't his primary goal.

"I wanted it to survive. And yes, I wanted to have enough advertising to pay the printers and the paper manufacturers. But money was certainly not the motivation for running a magazine."

Branson's Secret to Happiness

The list of businesses started by Richard Branson is long and growing — Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Galactic, Virgin Hotels, Virgin Mobile, and Virgin Voyages, among many others.

 Whenever he's about to start a venture, Branson asks himself two questions:

"Can I do this better than others?"

"Can I make a real difference in the world with this business?"

Branson thinks working on what interests you can bring you more happiness than just focusing on business profits.

"Paying the bills at the end of the year is important, but what entrepreneurs are doing all over the world today — and the only reason they're succeeding — is that they're making a difference in other people's lives. And that's all that really matters."

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