Why Richard Branson Won't Wear a Tie

At the entrance of the new Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Clubhouse in Terminal 4 of New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, Richard Branson and Chris Rossi, Virgin Atlantic Airways’ senior vice president for North America, shake hands with all of the invited clients, customers, and other guests at the lounge’s grand opening on March 5. Naturally, there are immaculately groomed flight attendants in red uniforms by their side.

The genial 61-year-old billionaire seems fully in his element in Virgin’s new $7 million lounge—the first in the country to have a hair salon, in addition to a spa, shower, pool table, bar, and on-site kitchen. He tells Bloomberg Businessweek about his travel habits and guilty pleasures, what he considers to be Britain’s most useless export, and commits one of the worst puns we’ve ever heard.