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Billionaire Tycoon Richard Branson on a Quest for the Best

By Fox News
Published | Updated

This is a partial transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," May 20, 2004, that was edited for clarity.

Watch "Your World w/Cavuto" weekdays at 4 p.m. and 1 a.m. ET.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Well, think that Donald Trump knows how to pick an apprentice? Not my next guest, who is launching a new show on FOX and is doing everything Trump did not do. It is called "The Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best," (search) where 16 contestants will travel around the world to compete in physical and intellectual tasks. Earlier I spoke with Sir Richard, the founder and the chairman of the Virgin Group (search), and I asked him if this show is a different version of Trump's?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIR RICHARD BRANSON, CHMN., PRES. & CEO, VIRGIN GROUP: I think there are two different ways of doing business. You know, Donald has, I think, slightly sort of a negative way to run a business; sort of like, don't trust your best friend. If somebody screws you, screw them back. You know, don't shake hands with people, you know, because you might get a cold or something.

And I personally don't think that is the way you should run a business. I think, you know, you should get out, you should get a great team of people around you. You should be willing to get out and shake hands with, you know, all of your customers, talk to your customers. Don't sit behind a big desk. You know, get out and travel and you know, experience your businesses on a global basis. And.

CAVUTO: Well, are you saying that he is just mean?

BRANSON: I don't necessarily say that he is mean, I just think that, you know, there are two different ways -- there are two completely different ways of running a business. I think that, you know, if you are going to spend your life -- I mean, I had dinner with him once and he said that he had fallen out with a number of people, he felt that they hadn't treated him well. And he was going to spend the rest of his life trying to do them down.

And it just seemed -- and I said to him, it is a negative thing, you should be spending your life being positive and just forget that. You know, you've got so many good points, concentrate on your good points and don't get tied up with your bad points. But he still seems to be heading that route.

CAVUTO: All right. Now, it clearly works for him in business, as far as the money he makes, and it worked for "The Apprentice" and ratings as far as the performance it had. So maybe he's onto something and you're kinder, gentler, maybe wackier approach is wrong?

BRANSON: Well, obviously he has done well with "The Apprentice," the poof will be in the eating, as they say. We are going to take a wonderful group of people around the world, to -- you know, Virgin has got its businesses set up in most countries in the world and we're going to visit 14 of them. And we're going to put them through their paces. You know, I'm a bit of an adventurer, so there will be an adventurous side to this program and we'll see what they are capable of there. And.

CAVUTO: When you say adventurous, what do you mean, what are you going to have them do, this isn't like eating raw bugs or anything like that?

BRANSON: No, don't -- I mean -- as you know, I've crossed the Atlantic in a balloon, and I'm sure they'll be up in a balloon, be white river rafting, they'll be doing that. I just learned to kite surf, they'll learn that. I mean.

CAVUTO: Will guys have to dress up in wedding gowns?

BRANSON: Wedding gowns, we'll let them off that one, I suspect.

BRANSON: But you never know. They don't necessarily have to do all of these things to survive the program, but it will just make the program more fun and -- you know, and I think life should be fun. So it will -- and it will I think make them that much stronger by the time they've -- if they've survived the trip.

And at the same time we're launching an airline in America in the next year. They're going to help me conceive this airline, plan it, you know, develop it, come up -- we're going to travel on lots of other people's airlines. We're going to travel on our own airlines. And, you know, by February of next year, when we launch Virgin USA, this team of people will have conceived a great airline. And one will be helping me run the Virgin empire, run the brand on a global basis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAVUTO: All right, Richard Branson.

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