Sir Richard Branson has faced a major backlash over a blog post he wrote describing how money doesn't bring happiness.
The Virgin empire owner said that 'stuff' doesn't matter, in a blog entry titled 'Happiness doesn't come from stuff' - published on the Virgin website.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been at the forefront of the debate after the controversial post, highlighting how the billionaire magnate sued the NHS.
In his blog post, Branson admits: "Family, friends, good health and the satisfaction that comes from making a positive difference are what really matters.
"Fortunately, early on in my life I realised that personal ’stuff’ really didn’t matter.
"Joan (his wife) and I lived on a houseboat and one day it sank. We realised that we missed nothing except our treasured photo albums."
He took a quote from the essay - "I truly believe that 'stuff' really does not bring happiness" - and presented it to his 12.6 million Twitter followers, which caused a frenzy of negative replies from Twitter users.
While some users highlighted his extravagant lifestyle and mocked his words - "Tweeted from your own private island, that’s very sweet," others joked about the businessman giving them money so they could compare, with one user posting: "Give me a million dollars so I can test it."
Some made remarks about Branson proving his words by donating more money.
However the Virgin Group founder's blog goes on to address his focus on "making a difference".
"Nowadays, I spend most of my time working with Virgin Unite and many brilliant partners to help tackle some of the major issues facing the world today including conflict resolution and human rights concerns, tackling the climate crisis, and conserving the ocean."
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However this commitment was challenged this morning after he posted a further blog post and tweet about his experience of flying in a private jet.
"I love the feeling of soaring high above the earth and looking down. It’s just magical flying just below the fluffy clouds and gazing out at the brilliant blue hue of the ocean," he tweeted.
One angry follower replied: "Polluting the ocean below that you keep banging on about as a result of burning jet fuel."
Social media users continued to follow Corbyn's lead and addressed his relationship with the NHS.
Virgin Care, as part of the Virgin Group, sued the NHS after losing out on an £82m contract to provide children's health services across Surrey, which was settled in court in November of 2017.
Branson has a net worth of £3.8billion and ranks eighth among the wealthiest British billionaires.
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