He’s worth an estimated £4.2 billion ($4.6bn), and Sir Richard Branson has the property portfolio to match. But his collection of personal homes – including a Kenyan safari camp, South African winery and private Caribbean island – are also high-end resorts that make up the Virgin Limited Edition collection. Dotted in unique locations around the globe, they’re so magnificent, they’ll wow even the most jaded of jetsetters – think laid back luxury, just on a stratospheric scale. Here, we take a peek inside…  

Mahali Mzuri is Sir Richard’s Kenyan safari camp, where he promises a “front row seat” to the famous annual Great Migration. Over two million wildebeest, zebras and gazelles sweep through the area on their quest to find fresh pastures. 

Accommodation is in 12 tents, but you won’t be tripping over guy ropes in the dark and stumbling your way to a distant toilet block. There are four-poster beds, leather sofas and roll-top baths, all with dreamy views over the Olare Motorogi Conservancy. 

Twice-daily game drives take guests deeper into the bush, where wildebeest, lions, cheetah and elephant roam. Quaintly, the 4:30pm afternoon drive departs after tea and cake in the main tent, then the day is rounded off with sundowners, before returning to the luxurious bolthole. 

As you’d expect for the price tag, there’s a spectacular infinity pool and the communal main tent has a library, plus iPads and binoculars. By night, there’s an open fire and telescope for making the most of the sparkling African night sky. By day, guests can explore local markets. 

Back at camp, meals include bush barbecues, Champagne picnics and a la carte lunches on the deck. Bread is baked on site and all drinks, even the finest alcoholic drinks, are included. Let’s face it, with prices from £1,100 ($1,220) per person per night, guests have already dug deep into their pockets to be there. 

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Dubbed his “favourite Mallorcan retreat” by Sir Richard, the 810-acre Son Bunyola estate dates back to the 1800s. Behind the gated entrance are three stylishly opulent villas, tucked away among almond, olive and lemon groves. 

Son Balagueret (pictured) has three bedrooms, one hidden in a 13th-century turret, up a winding staircase. There’s a 49-foot (15m) private pool and magnificent terrace with views across the Med. 

Sa Punta de S’Aguila or ‘Eagle’s Point’, has five ensuite bedrooms and a heated pool, while Sa Terra Rotja, or 'Red Earth' (pictured), sleeps eight. There’s a Bose entertainment system, ping pong table, and if you have a favourite drink, they’ll stock up the bar for your arrival. 

Guests stumble downstairs to a pre-prepared continental breakfast, and chefs put on buffet lunches and three-course dinners, which are either served on the terrace or indoors. Food is sourced from the local markets – think barbecued lamb, fresh fish, cured meats and cheeses.

At the time of writing a week at three-bedroomed Son Balagueret (pictured) costs from £15,950 ($17,640). If it’s any consolation, the price tag includes all meals for six days, plus beer, wine, and Spanish fizz by the bucket load. There’s also daily housekeeping, so you don’t have to break a sweat.

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Necker Island is Sir Richard’s 74-acre Caribbean hideaway, the place he calls “home”. But it’s for hire too – groups of up to 48 people can rent it exclusively, complete with its one-hundred-strong staff. Single rooms can be booked for a handful of designated ‘celebration’ weeks too.

Bedrooms have super luxe details, such as freestanding marble baths, balcony showers and plunge pools. Eight bedrooms are found in The Great House, a Balinese villa at the heart of Necker, plus another eight one-bedroom Balinese-style houses dotted around the island.

With a seaside hot tub big enough for 30 and a pool with a swim up bar, Necker hosts legendary parties. They’ll even lay on 'beach Olympics', including Champagne diving, where guests compete to find bottles hidden in the pool. Sounds fun, but it probably wouldn’t be recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

Guests can help feed the local wildlife, which includes 200 flamingoes, 50 lemurs, plus giant tortoises. There are walking trails around Necker, and cruises round the British Virgin Islands, with stops for snorkelling, lunch and cocktails. 

On Necker, people don’t just walk down to the beach, they zip line from the Great House – this is a millionaire’s playground after all. At the time of writing a 'celebration week' for two costs from a cool £32,654 ($36,050).

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Mont Rochelle, an hour from Cape Town, is a food- and wine-lover’s paradise. Nestled among vineyards in gourmet capital Franschhoek, it has 26 rooms and wine is produced on site. 

Rooms are named after the wines produced on the estate, including Shiraz, Merlot and Pinotage. The most luxurious are the Cap Classique Suites, with floor-to-ceiling windows, freestanding baths and manicured gardens with turquoise plunge pools. 

The heated outdoor pool has views over the Franschhoek Mountains and even the spa continues a boozy theme, with an anti-ageing grape stem cell facial. Not quite hair of the dog, but it might come close. 

Guests can tour the wine cellar and explore the paths meandering through the vines. Dining alfresco is a serious business here and there’s an extensive picnic menu, including harissa chicken, smoked salmon and chocolate truffles. 

The hotel’s main restaurant, Miko, offers a mix of South African and international food, with dishes like market fish and local venison loin. For dessert, there's a cheeseboard comprised of South Africa's finest fromage.

Sir Richard makes the most of the local hospitality when he’s here, and many of the local excursions revolve around novel ways to taste wine. There’s a four-hour horse ride with tasting stops, or the wine tram that winds through the Franschhoek Valley, stopping at wine estates en route. At the time of writing rooms cost from £250 ($276) a night, including breakfast, mini bar and a wine tasting sessions.

Sir Richard Branson is an avid skier and when he and his family aren’t zipping down runs in Verbier, Switzerland, his chalet, The Lodge, is available for hire. Surrounded by 250 miles (402km) of powder, with a piste on the doorstep, this is skiing at its most exclusive.

The Lodge sleeps 18, plus six children can bed down in The Bunkroom, complete with beanbags, giant plasma TV and games console. The top floor houses two master suites, with roaring fires dividing the bedrooms from the sitting areas. Both suites are joined via a nifty secret bookcase door. 

There are indoor and al fresco hot tubs, a 30-foot-long (9m) pool, steam room and private gym. Fifteen staff, including three dedicated chefs, are on hand to cater for guests’ every whim.

There’s even a party room with a bar, disco ball, karaoke and home cinema system. Dangerously, it doubles as a wine cellar. 

By summer there’s mountain biking, paragliding, golf, hiking and tennis. Guests can rock climb in the nearby Bagnes Valley and in late July some of the world’s best classical musicians descend to play at the two-week Verbier Festival. 

At the time of writing, a room at The Lodge in summer will set you back from £732 ($950) a night. The cost skyrockets in winter, with starting prices around the £114,125 ($125,979) mark for a week’s exclusive hire. Food, drink and the team of 15 staff are included. 

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What do you do if you’re Sir Richard Branson and your parents fall in love with a Moroccan fortress? You buy it, of course. Perched high up in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, in the village of Asni, Kasbah Tamadot is an hour’s drive from Marrakech.

The 28 rooms are dotted with antiques and decorated in jewel-coloured Moroccan rugs and textiles. As well as the expected luxury touches, there are hats to ward off the scorching North African sun, babouches (Moroccan slippers) and thick, fluffy robes. And there’s no excuse not to send a postcard home – they’re waiting in the room, already stamped. 

Guests can also stay in one of 10 Berber tents, but with their king-sized beds, billowing curtains and sumptuous sofas, this is glamping on steroids. Six come complete with private Jacuzzi, plus a bottle of Champagne to drink while wallowing in the steamy water. There’s also a roll-top bath with views of Mount Toubkal, the Atlas’ highest peak. 

Kasbah Tamadot has two floodlit outdoor tennis courts, plus open-air movie nights, when Moroccan-themed films are shown on a giant screen. 

When the lure of the infinity pool back at Kasbah Tamadot starts to wane, guests can ride one of the resort's well-kept mules to a local village, a gentle way to get to know the Indigenous Berber culture. There are also two camels and two donkeys that 'work' on site. At the time of writing rooms cost from £494 ($545) a night, including breakfast and mini bar. 

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Ulusaba, near South Africa’s Kruger National Park, has been ranked third in the top 50 resorts in the world, and it’s not hard to see why. Sir Richard “set out to create the most beautiful game reserve in Africa” when he bought his luxury hideaway, and it's probably fair to say he has succeeded.

Accommodation is divided into three thatched lodges. With its treehouse-style rooms, connected by rope swing bridges, Safari Lodge is an animal lover’s paradise – and a vertigo sufferer’s nightmare. It overlooks the Xikwenga Dam, where elephants and hippos wallow. 

Rock Lodge teeters 800 feet (243m) up on a hilltop, but it’s at Cliff Lodge that luxury reaches supersonic levels. The emphasis is on privacy, with a personal chef, gym, spa treatment room and exclusive game drives. 

Each lodge has its own pool, and it’s not unheard of for elephants to play in one of the many private plunge pools. As the resort isn’t fenced, animals occasionally wander in. 

Guests are in the thick of the action at Ulusaba, with lions, leopards, rhinos, buffalo and elephants (otherwise known as the Big Five) nearby. There are two three-hour game drives a day, as well as safari walks. 

For a high octane thrill, guests can explore the nearby Blyde river canyon by helicopter. At 3,280 feet deep (1km) and 18.5 miles long (30km), it’s a spectacular area, home to cascading waterfalls, samango monkeys and bushbabies. At the time of writing rooms cost from £600 ($662) per person per night. 

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Moskito Island is a Crusoe-esque paradise, inhabited mostly by sea turtles – and a selection of luxe-living landlubbers. Just 10 minutes by speedboat from gorgeous Virgin Gorda, Moskito Island already has three dreamy private estates, but newly opened The Village is the jewel in its Caribbean crown.

All the barefoot luxe beach houses on Moskito Island sleep between 14 and 22 people, and are perfect for partying as each has ample sea view social space. The Village even features waterslides that slip between the upper and lower pool levels.

A personal chef will be assigned to your party, so expect to be greeted with tailor-made menus upon arrival. Each estate has a bar and fancy alfresco dining area, but when you're feeling sociable, there are plenty of shared spaces where Moskito Island's exclusive guests can mingle – perhaps for a couple of cocktails after a session out on the water.

Moskito Island is one of Branson's dream projects, but seeing it come true for yourself will cost you a pretty penny. Hiring the smallest property, the Point Estate (which sleeps a modest 14 guests), will set you back £15,853 ($17,500) per night at the time of writing. 

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