"I’ve always followed Richard Branson very closely," says the Greek tycoon. "I mean, I started an airline!"
But Stelios admits that the business model for his budget airline came, not from Virgin Atlantic, but an American airline: SouthWest Airlines.
"But the idea for extending the Easy brand, that came for Branson," he adds.
Other role models for the Easyjet billionaire include Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea.
"It’s one of the biggest businesses on earth," says Stelios. "It’s a private business, and no one really knows what it does but it’s incredibly inspirational.
"And Kamprad flies EasyJet!" he laughs.
The 2009 Real Business Entrepreneurs’ Summit was held in association with Investec Private Bank.
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