Pinkerton: What the Tech Tycoon Space Race Means for the Rest of Us Saul Loeb, Hannibal Hanschke/Getty Images, Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/AP Photo 17 Jul 2021 So Richard Branson beat Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to be the first billionaire to go to space. Much of the worldwide coverage of Branson’s space jaunt was bubbly enthusiasm. For instance, the Asia-based Wionewsheadlined, “Richard Branson realises his lifelong dream with Virgin Galactic spaceflight.” Indeed, critics tweet-pounced on coverage deemed fawning: “Almost everything that ‘CNN Innovation and Space Correspondent Rachel Crane’ is saying sounds like Virgin Galactic wrote it for her.”