I'm pretty sure Branson and his companions achieved weightlessness. They merely didn't orbit.

He delivered on his promise. Which is more than many of the earthbound achieve.

As far as political ideologies go, it is easier to achieve flight with two wings than one.

For some reason I'm reminded of Heinlein's book, "The Man Who Sold The Moon." It was about a financial titan who decides to go to the moon, and his mixture of finagling and idealism to accomplish his task. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if all our spacefacing billionaires of the present have read it, especially Musk.