Necker Island (British Virgin Islands) world, the challenge begins at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with the top 10 new innovations progressing to the finals at Necker Island where Branson joins the judging panel along with technology figures and investors from Silicon Valley. The Necker Cup, an exhibition tennis tournament held at the end of the tennis season, has been held on the island annually since 2012. In February 2017, former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle visited Necker as guests of Sir Richard Branson. On August 22, 2011, The Great House burned down in a blaze believed to be
Vanessa Branson Vanessa Branson Vanessa Branson (born 1959) is the owner of the wild Scottish island of Eilean Shona and the co-owner of El Fenn, in Marrakech. She is the founder of the Marrakech Biennale and is also the sister of Richard Branson. Vanessa Branson is a champion of global cultural and ecological initiatives. As the Founding President of the Marrakech Biennale (formerly AIM Biennale) she created North Africa’s only trilingual arts festival, an event now entering its 7th edition – comprising visual art, literature and film programs featuring acclaimed international and Moroccan artists. In October 2014, Vanessa Branson was awarded the