I was reminded by a colleague the other day of Fred Laker's involvement in Concorde. In the mid-1970s the BA (BOAC) management, despite intense government pressure, was refusing to have anything to do with operating Concorde and could only see it as a financial drain on the company.
Fred made it very publicly known that he was prepared to operate Concorde and also claimed that he could make a profit with it.
This was too hideous a prospect for the BA management to stomach so they went back to the negotiating table and quickly reached a deal with the government.
From Fred's point of view he got a lot of free publicity for he was then able to claim in the national press that it was he who had saved the Concorde!