Things have been hectic here with a server relocation, moving to a new apartment, and finishing finals at university— all this in addition to the usual holiday busyness. Lots of Branson news to catch up on here, but this story over the weekend definitely takes the cake. The Scotsman reports that Sir Richard orchestrated an attempt, with help from Nelson Mandela and with Kofi Annan’s blessing, to avert the Iraqi Invasion by convincing Saddam Hussein to voluntarily go into exile. I’ve been pretty outspoken, having studied international relations at UCLA, about what an insane idea the entire invasion was, and seeing a business leader step up to attempt something like this — even leaving aside that it was my favorite billionaire at that — is quite possibly the coolest thing I’ve seen all year. If this had worked, this is the stuff that Nobel Peace Prizes are made of.  

Of course, it may not be his only shot at that prize either. As it turns out, Branson isn’t treating this as a one-off, and is instead formalizing the idea into something that is sorely needed in the international arena these days.

The invasion of Iraq has inspired Sir Richard to set up a group of non-political figures called the Elders to help avert future conflicts. He added: "It’s in its infancy but Mandela has agreed to be the founding father."

Wow. For a guy who started a student health advisory center thirty years ago trying to help people, he sure has come a long way to now coordinating international conflict aversion efforts. For anyone wondering why this website exists, pay attention… Ultimately, this is the difference between Sir Richard and every other two-bit billionaire on the planet… Branson enjoys life by doing well and doing good. Practically a holiday story for MBA students everywhere.