Richard Branson
Income tax must rise – but Rachel Reeves must go
Call me hard-hearted, but I doubt even a magic mushroom-induced tantric visualisation of a harmonious universe could transport me into…
What Jeff Bezos should have learnt from Neil Armstrong
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos joined the billionaire space race today in his suitably phallic looking New Shepard rocket. Bezos successfully travelled…
Branson vs Bezos: In praise of the billionaire space race
They are rich boys with some very expensive toys. As Richard Branson completes his first space flight, it would be…
BP, Amazon and airlines light different paths to survival
We should take heart from BP’s £5.1 billion second-quarter loss, accompanied by a halving of its dividend. What’s good about…
The birth of a new telecoms giant heralds the end of Branson’s empire
This month’s most significant corporate deal attracted less attention than it might have done in normal times, crowded out by…
Bailing out Richard Branson comes with a big price
Richard Branson is asking British taxpayers – a club he resigned from when he moved his affairs to the lax…
WeWork is no more than an overhyped and overstretched landlord
Long ago in my investment banking days I had a glimpse into the mind of the British Airways long-haul pilot.…
Why passengers won’t mourn the passing of Virgin trains
‘Virgin trains could be gone from the UK in November,’ blogged Sir Richard Branson from his billionaire hideaway after the…
It was a hot weekend for takeover deals – and cycling
The bank holiday turned out to be a hot one, not least in the takeover arena. First, Shire Pharmaceutical accepted…
The US Treasury shows London how to cold-shoulder Putin’s cronies
A decade ago I commissioned an article about Vladimir Putin’s business cronies. Among other lines of enquiry, it sought to…
Fudging Ireland’s border issue can only mean Troubles ahead
The question of what kind of border after Brexit will exist between Northern Ireland and the Republic will, I predict,…
Diary
For years, I’ve wondered why so many clever people go to Davos to discuss topics as meaningless as ‘the new…
Long life
When Robert Peston, the economics editor of the BBC, interviewed George Osborne on television in an open-necked shirt with collar…
Sexed-up pacifism
Big-screen documentaries never change the world. Blackfish has not shortened the queues to see maltreated killer whales leap through hoops…
The trouble with Kids Company
It’s a favourite charity of David Cameron and many celebrities. But does it do what it claims to do?
Barometer
Space to dream Richard Branson’s dream of commercial space flights has suffered a setback after a prototype craft crashed. But…
Pain, brains and space planes
Explaining the death of a pilot testing a Virgin Galactic rocket-ship, Sir Richard Branson intoned: ‘I truly believe that humanity’s…
Our prosperity is rising, but our start-up entrepreneurs need much more fertiliser
This issue includes the new Spectator Money supplement, in which I hope you’ll find a bouquet of stimulating ideas. The…
Will Osborne’s tilt against Double Dutch tax dodgers play into Farage’s hands?
George Osborne’s promise to crack down on multinational companies’ avoidance of UK taxes by the use of impenetrable devices such…
Is the US using bank fines to bring allies into line against Russia?
Here’s one for all you conspiracy nuts out there, prompted by readers’ comments on my recent item about whether BP…
Diary
This week marks another milestone in my 15-year battle with Richard Branson. Ever since he unsuccessfully sued me in 1999…
Diary
Having dampened local republican ardour during their recent tour of New Zealand and Australia, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge…
The halo slips further
Tom Bower’s first biography of Sir Richard Branson, in 2000, was memorable for its hilarious account of the Virgin tycoon’s…
