Sir Richard Branson has added more than £1.3billion to his wealth in just the past fortnight after shares in his company Virgin Galactic surged to a new high.
The 70-year-old billionaire has seen the stock more than double in value already this year as he benefited from investors in the Reddit-fulled frenzy focusing on it.
It means he now has a record net worth of £5.7billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with his Virgin Galactic stake making up almost half of his fortune.
The stock soared by 22 per cent to $53.79 in one day yesterday, having been trading at about $40 only last week, $30 the week before and $25 the week before that.