Richard Branson and his late wife, Joan Templeman , have an incredible love story spanning 50 years, which included the businessman's yearlong struggle to purchase Necker Island for his then-girlfriend.

In a post shared to the now-75-year-old's blog in February 2020, he revealed the story behind how he managed to buy the entire island, which is part of the British Virgin Islands, in 1979.

"Two years after we had first met," Richard wrote, "I wanted to show Joan a grand gesture of affection. Upon hearing about a beautiful island in the British Virgin Islands up for sale, I called the people selling it to enquire."

© WireImage Holly Branson, Joan Branson, Sam Branson and Richard Branson

As Virgin Records was still in its early days, the entrepreneur was not quite as wealthy as

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