Our family has been very fortunate to be one of the closest families I know. My parents were together all their lives and my wife Joan and I have had a very long and happy relationship. Our children Holly and Sam get on as well as any brothers and sisters I have met and are wonderfully close.

Therefore in writing this note I am reflecting the thoughts and wishes of the whole family.

As a young man, I never set out to make money. We set out to create things that we could be proud of and to try to make a difference. From founding Student magazine to give young people in the 1960s a voice on issues such as the Vietnam War to creating Virgin Galactic to explore space, we have always tried to do things a little differently and challenge convention.

Because the public liked what Virgin created, our various companies, by and large, became successful. As they prospered, rather than taking money out for personal use, we reinvested to create new ventures and set up our non-profit foundation, Virgin Unite, to help create and build entrepreneurial solutions that make a positive difference in the world.

Today the Virgin Group is run by a wonderful team headed up by Peter Norris and Josh Bayliss. This has enabled me to spend 80% of my time working with Virgin Unite and many brilliant partners to create not-for-profit enterprises to help tackle some of the major issues facing the world today such as conflict resolution (The Elders), reduction of carbon (the Carbon War Room), as well as exploring entrepreneurial solutions to protect nature (Gaia Rocks).

We have started framing a new approach to business where people and planet are priorities through our work with The B Team and I’ve also been fortunate to team up with President Cardoso and Sylvia Earle to support the creation of their initiatives to end the “War on Drugs” (the Global Commission on Drugs Policy) and to protect the oceans (the Ocean Elders).

Holly and Sam have also realised that real satisfaction comes from using the fortunate position they find themselves in to try to make a real difference to other people’s lives. Sam is inspired by what Jeff Skoll has done with his wealth and has set up his own production company, Sundog Pictures, that aims to bring new audiences to important subjects, using the medium of film to inspire people to engage more in the world they live in. Holly has thrown herself in to supporting a wonderful charity called Free the Children, has set up her own charity Big Change Charitable Trust and devotes a lot of her time to Virgin Unite.

Fortunately, early on in my life I realised that personal ’stuff’ really didn’t matter. Joan and I lived on a houseboat and one day it sank. We realised that we missed nothing except our treasured photo albums. Later our house in London caught fire, destroying everything inside. Last year our home in the British Virgin Islands was completely gutted as a result of a lightning strike. We were so relieved that everyone got out safely that even the loss of photo albums and notebooks were of little consequence.

‘Stuff’ really is not what brings happiness. Family, friends, good health and the satisfaction that comes from making a positive difference are what really matters.

Happily our children, who will be our principal heirs, agree with me on this. As and when we take monies out of the Virgin Group of companies the majority of it will be invested in entrepreneurial approaches to help make a difference in the world. We want the value created by the Virgin Group to be used to invest in new collaborative approaches to addressing issues, where business, governments and not-for-profits join forces to create a healthy, equitable and peaceful world for future generations to enjoy.

We started by trying to give a voice to the young people of the 1960s and hope our “Giving pledge” will help many generations to come. We look forward to working with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in expanding the number of people who are part of this pledge outside America. We are honoured to be joining this great group of leaders as part of a movement where all sectors are working together towards radical new approaches to solving issues that will help to truly change the world for the better.