I am a fan of Branson but recognise that many people do not like him and many have reason to hate him. In that regard, he appears to be the same as any other human being.
He is a modern business man and he has made and lost money with some projects working and others failing. Which again reminds me of other human beings. However, I am always surprised by the level of bile that is directed at him from PPRuNers. It is unbecoming.
As to the trains - which I have used as I live near the Euston lines - I think that he was mad to take them on. How anyone thought that they could pull round an old service that the Brit govt was selling off cheap and fencing with stupid rules, leaves me beat. His optimism must have got the better of him and I have no sympathy for any flak that he takes on the subject of trains.
He once said that taking on the airline that became Virgin Express (sorry, cannot recall original carrier name) was a mistake. He said that only by starting a company from scratch could you get the atmosphere and approach from the staff that you needed. Old companies have too much baggage to change and reinvent themselves, as we see with BA right now. This is why I was surprised when he took on the trains and he has paid a very high price for that decision.
What he does know is what customers want and how much they will pay for it. That knowledge allows him to fly by the seat of his pants and often make a safe landing.
Lastly, one of the reasons that I admire him is that he is not afraid to change. If something is not working, he will not cling on to power. He will sell/merge with another and see that the company continues. Most people that start things want to hold on to the reins of power long after it is clear that they are not helping - but Branson does not. He knows that his strength is starting things not running them day to day. In this regard Stelios is the same, he starts things and moves on and that displays a grown up attitude. It tells me that that person understands themself and their limitations. There are not many business 'leaders' who admit their limitations and allow someone else to improve what they have done. Many actively prevent that from happening, so that they will continue to look good after they have left. This usually backfires.
The person who can let something go, the person who can say, "Someone else can do this better than me" is a person that I would work for any second of the day.