Sir Richard Branson said he would mortgage his posh Caribbean island estate to raise funds in order to rescue his Virgin Group empire from total collapse.
Branson, who is the seventh wealthiest man in the United Kingdom with an estimated value of 4.7 billion euros -- and a tax-free resident on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands for the past 14 years -- vowed Monday in a social media post that he would raise as much cash to save as many jobs as possible.
Branson has said that a loan from the British government is very critical to help his airline survive the ongoing global health disaster. In a letter to staff released on Monday, he said that while Virgin Atlantic would do all things necessary to keep operating during the pandemic, it needed government help in the face of the extreme uncertainty in today's global travel and "not knowing how long the jets would be grounded for."
Branson, who has already poured in $250 million into Virgin Group businesses in reaction to the outbreak, disclosed that he will offer his Island property as collateral to raise the money that he badly needs. Virgin Atlantic would pursue a commercial loan from the government, which it would repay without providing any specifics on the actual amount the airline needs.
Branson came under pressure from opposition Labor leaders to call for help at a time when Virgin Atlantic workers have taken a salary cut with much of the economy on its knees.
For eight weeks, employees of Virgin Atlantic have taken a pay reduction which the airline mogul said was a "virtually unanimous" decision by the workers and not pressured by management to enforce upon them.
According to the tycoon, he has seen plenty of comments regarding his net value - but "that's calculated on the valuation of Virgin companies around the globe prior to the pandemic, no sitting as cash in the bank ready to withdraw."
British airline EasyJet recently received a £600 million loan from the government working with airlines on a case-by-case basis instead of following Virgin's demand for a multi-billion pound state-funded aid for the entire UK airline industry.
Elsewhere on Monday, Virgin Australia - also part-owned by the Virgin Group of Branson - switched towards voluntary administration, a source and local media said, rendering the carrier the biggest victim to date of the pandemic.
