SS Great Eastern is used to distinguish an engineer's earnings and reputation from the returns made by a project's investors. In this interpretation, Brunel could gain financially and advertise his abilities even when the enterprise lost money for others. His schemes still required financial backers, and prestige alone did not make every proposal worth pursuing. A comparison with SpaceX contrasts ambitious publicity with satellite work, although other participants dispute the comparison of engineering ability. Brunel's backers are also described as wealthy investors who included recently enriched industrial families, rather than a uniformly ancient landed aristocracy.
Notable Point · 1:39:31-1:44:19
Brunel, Great Eastern and the economics of prestige projects
Great Eastern prompts a discussion of who gains from a major engineering project, including its designer and its investors.