Here’s what to know about the 40-year-old entrepreneur …

Growing up Branson

Life will never be too ordinary or straightforward when you are the daughter of one of the world’s wealthiest business owners. After all, dad does run an empire of over 400 companies in various fields.

But for Holly, her parents (Richard Branson and Joan Templeman) did the best they could to keep their two children away from the spotlight. It’s a stark contrast to their father’s larger-than-life status.

Who is the richest Pink Floyd member? The band’s net worths, ranked

Growing up though, she identified as a boy, as revealed in Natalie Pinkham’s In The Pink podcast. “I, at the age of four, decided I was a boy. It wasn’t that I wanted to be a boy; it was that I was a boy.” She continued, “I absolutely believed I was a boy – I stood up to pee, I dressed like a boy, I even gave myself different male names. This wasn’t just a quick thing that stopped after a few months or years; it lasted until I was nearly 11.”

As per Holly’s blog, Virgin was a very prominent part of her home and family life, with her old nursery ending up becoming the Virgin Press Office. She wrote, “Dad was (and still is) open, honest and unafraid to ask questions or seek advice – even from his children.”

She added, “We saw him listen much more than he talked. In a nutshell, he taught us to be independent, which I know at times, like many a parent, he regretted – especially when there were four of us involved in making decisions, rather than just one!”

Meet Walt Disney’s billionaire-bashing grandniece, Abigail Disney

Her education

Holly studied medicine at the University College London before graduating and becoming a junior National Health Service (NHS) doctor at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Much to her father’s excitement, she joined the Virgin leadership team as an intern while she was on a break from her medical career. Ten years later, Holly is chair of Virgin Unite (the Virgin Group’s foundation) and a co-founder of Big Change.

Her role in Virgin

Working at Virgin wasn’t initially part of the plan for this 40-year-old mum of three, but fate played an important role. Holly said that though she qualified as a doctor and was passionate about her role for the first year, she was then allocated predominately surgery, which she didn’t want to pursue.

She told The New York Times in 2018, “He [dad] said, ‘Why don’t you take a year off and go work at Virgin?’ I never ever thought I’d be working in the family business, but it was a great opportunity. So I thought, OK, I’ll do that for the year, and then I’ll go back to medicine. Now I’ve been at Virgin for 10 years.”

Holly added that work-life balance was an important aspect she wanted to extend to employees. “For the last 10 years, we’ve been really making sure it’s embedded in the business. We tried to bring unlimited leave in the UK, but it took us 18 months to do it legally, just trying to give people more holiday. Now we do it, and people don’t run out the door. They feel valued and trusted.”

Why did these 5 Chinese tech billionaires step down?

Holly also said that she’s working to “design the maternity and paternity policies the right way so that men feel they can take time off, too”.

She found her calling at Virgin Management, which focuses on philanthropy and the growth of the Virgin brand. Holly is also involved in charitable work at Virgin Unite, Big Change, WE Day UK and Virgin Money Giving.

An adrenaline junkie

In 2010, Holly celebrated her dad’s birthday by attempting to kitesurf the English Channel. She said on the Virgin website, “This was particularly ambitious, given I couldn’t kitesurf at the time!”

Although the moment was cut short due to hurricane-force winds, her brother Sam and dad Richard tried again two years later, and ended up breaking the world record as the fastest to cross the English Channel – with her dad also becoming the oldest person to kitesurf it.

How rich is Lady Gaga really? Inside her gigantic net worth

No place like home

Holly currently lives with her family in London, though her life and home are not a reflection of her dad’s US$5 billion net worth.

Her social media is a showcase of her relatively muted lifestyle and she often shares useful parenting tips like how to raise your kids through lockdown.

She shared a post on Instagram on the best way to keep her kids busy when she needs downtime – with the help of technology. “A moment of screen time … aka peace and quiet! Counting down the hours until school starts again on Thursday! Thinking of all of the amazing teachers out there this week.”