This is the third time Branson has sold a large trance of shares in his space tourism company. He sold $505 million worth in May 2020 and $150 million in April this year. He still holds around 46 million shares worth $1.2 billion.
According to The Guardian, parent group Virgin Atlantic said in a statement that it intends to use the net proceeds from the sale to "support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that continue to be affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic".
The sale comes around a month after Branson became the first billionaire to successfully launch a fully crewed private flight into space.
Last Monday (9 August), it was reported that Virgin Atlantic is likely to seek a stock market flotation in the autumn.
