Richard Branson founded the Virgin Group back in 1970, which is now the parent company of airline Virgin Atlantic, cruise company Virgin Voyages, spaceship Virgin Galactic...and around 37 more businesses. 

COVID killed the tourism industry, and unfortunately for Branson, his big 3 companies all rely on that industry. So now, he’s had to sell down around $400 million worth of his shares in Virgin Galactic to prop up Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Voyages.

It's nice, buuuut now Branson only has a 50.6% stake in Virgin Galactic. Any less, and he won’t be a majority shareholder much longer.

So what’s the key learning?‍

A majority shareholder is a person or entity that owns and controls more than 50% of a company’s shares. These guys are usually the founder of the company or their kids and they have a lot of power. 

Majority shareholders can make crucial decisions about the direction of a company, like who’s on the board of directors and what the company’s strategic direction is.

But you need to keep your majority to keep control. If you lose it, you could be vulnerable to buyouts...Cos, ya know, majority rules. So, Branson needs to hold on tight and hope COVID buggers off soon so his other businesses can become profitable again - and he can head back out on some celestial adventures.