> The 747 was probably the most profitable losing bid in history

Some additional context here:

Boeing developed the 747 after it lost out on a bid to build a large cargo plane for the Air Force in 1964. The winner of that competition, Lockheed, went on to build the C-5 Galaxy, of which only 131 were built in two phases, one in the late 60s-early 70s, and some more in the 80s.

Meanwhile, Boeing used a lot of that experience on that bid in the development of a passenger airliner, the 747, and ended up being produced for over 50 years, with over 1500 of the type being built.