Randolph Fields was an Anglo-American lawyer who founded British Atlantic Airways which later became Virgin Atlantic Airways

Virgin Atlantic Airways

Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines...

. After differences with Richard Branson

Richard Branson

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....

, Fields sold his share of Virgin Atlantic in 1985, becoming a sterling millionaire. He subsequently invested much of his fortune in the short-lived Highland Express Airways

Highland Express Airways

Highland Express Airways was an airline based in Scotland. Its main base was at Prestwick International Airport. It ceased operations in 1987.- History :...

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Renowned in insurance circles as an expert on asbestos and environmental hazards coverage, his work involved weekly trans-Atlantic commuting where he took full advantage of lifetime complimentary upper class travel on Virgin Atlantic, long after being bought out.

Fields was also a well-known poker player on both sides of the Atlantic. Principally known as a "cash" player, Fields won a European Poker Title and was a fixture at the major poker tournaments in Las Vegas, including the WSOP. Fields was an early financial backer of Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...

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In The Independent

The Independent

The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

David Spanier wrote this assessment :

"Randolph Fields lit up any poker game he played in. Some players thought he was good value because he threw his chips into the pot with such abandon. Others recognised that beneath this swashbuckling play, Randolph had a pretty sharp mind for cards. I often saw him demolish the table by his aggressive betting in tournaments. Above all he brought a boyish enthusiasm to the game, a zest for a good gamble, which is quite rare these days."

Fields had an identical twin brother Robbie Fields, owner of Posh Boy Records

Posh Boy Records

Posh Boy Records was a Hollywood, California based record label owned by Robbie Fields, a high school substitute teacher and former copyboy at the L A Times who took an interest in the emerging punk rock scene in Orange County, California during the late 1970s...

. Fields' older brother is well known London-based fashion mogul Gifi Fields.