It's Good to be Richard Branson

Richard Branson, the founder of just about all things Virgin, doesn't seem too worried about the global tourism slowdown. Jaunted.com (a partner to Portfolio.com) offers up a photo of Branson kite surfing off Necker Island, his private island in the British Virgin Island with naked model Denni Parkinson hanging off his back.

In another photo in the series, Branson appears in a white buttondown in the forest while Parkinson stands behind him au naturale. She also happens to be the photographer's girlfriend, according to the Daily Mail, but the British tabs aren't giving Richard a free pass on this, even though he claims his children were watching from the shore. In the same week, Branson also reportedly clashed with Virgin-sponsored Formula 1 driver Jenson Button over his paying too much attention to Button's girlfriend, Japanese-Argentine underwear model Jessica Michibata. No wonder Branson's next trip was to a surprise birthday party for his dad in Scotland -- nothing untoward-looking about that.

Branson has a relatively new blog called, coincidentally, Branson Stripped Bare. The blog is a place where Branson can write about his travels (today, he writes about the Grand Prix in Shanghai), makes pitches for Virgin Atlantic products (a round-the-world airfare was for sale, using many of the airlines in Branson's portfolio), and asks users to submit videos with their own product pitches that can then be shown on Virgin Atlantic's inflight entertainment system.

There's something oddly calming to know that as the world deals with a global economic crisis and airline executives wring their hands over lost revenues, at least one industry leader knows how to have a good time.