Branson’s $520 Million Virgin Money Exit Exposes SPAC Scars
- UK billionaire’s wealth has fallen by half since mid-2022
- One SPAC deal led to bankruptcy and others fell more than 90%
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson had almost $2 billion tied up in global stock markets a year or so ago, largely from several cash-burning US companies listed through blank-check firms.
Steep slumps in those US stocks have since cut their collective value by as much as 95%, and now, with Nationwide Building Society’s announced all-cash takeover of Virgin Money UK Plc, the publicly traded component of Branson’s wealth will soon nearly vanish.