Please correct me if I'm wrong ttb, but I didn't think that Richard Branson was piloting any space rockets, I was under the impression that as management, he gave that job to a couple of ex RAF & USAF Test Pilots.
Besides;
Overview – Safety | Virgin Galactic
Our excitement in 2002 on discovering Burt Rutan's plans for SpaceShipOne focused on a number of design features which we believed in their own right could make the vehicles many thousands of times safer than any manned space craft of the past. Overlay that with Virgin's experience in transportation operations and there potentially existed a unique opportunity to transform levels of safety from day one; a pre-requisite for any responsible operator and in particular for Virgin Galactic.