The Virgin founder received 58% of the votes in a survey of over 2,000 people.
Branson has established a business empire that has a reported net worth of £1.5bn and his airline - Virgin Atlantic - recently celebrated 25 years in business.
Anita Roddick, the recently deceased founder of The Body Shop, came second after receiving votes from 25% of respondents.
Peter Jones emerged as the favourite TV Dragon with 23% of the votes, with newcomer James Caan scoring the lowest with only 7% of the vote.