Wichai Thongtang first entered the public spotlight in 2001 as prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's lawyer in the asset-concealment case in the Constitution Court.
It was a memorable year for Mr Wichai, whose empire now spans several sectors.
He has been a household name ever since, never long out of the headlines.
But Mr Wichai is also an investment veteran, pursuing success outside the legal arena.
He first invested in the healthcare industry in 1994 with a 10% stake in Ratchaburi's Muangrat Hospital, five years later buying a 50% stake in Bangkok's Sikarin Hospital on Theparak Road at a time when the facility was facing a liquidity crisis.
Mr Wichai sold his stake in Sikarin Hospital to existing shareholders in 2002 after the institution was on the road to recovery.
Boosted by the success of these two hospitals, he expanded his healthcare portfolio more aggressively, taking controlling stakes in several hospitals including Paolo Siam in the Chokechai 4 area, Paolo Panyavej in Udon Thani and Wachiraprakan in Samut Prakan.
Mr Wichai became actively involved in Prasit Patana Plc, the operator of Phyathai Hospital, in 2003 through Paolo Medic, the operator of Paolo Memorial Hospital, at a time when Prasit Patana was about to complete the debt restructuring it needed following the 1997 economic crisis.
Soon after, he made a tender offer for all shares of Prasit Patana, now delisted from the stock market.
Phyathai Hospital, founded by the family of Arthit Ourairat, a former senior Democrat MP, faced mounting debts reaching 10 billion baht.
In 2010, the Health Network Group controlled by Mr Wichai sold the Phyathai and Paolo Memorial hospital chains to Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Plc (BGH), the country's largest hospital group, in a 12.6-billion-baht deal that turned BGH into the second-largest hospital group in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan.
Nonetheless, Mr Wichai remains a major shareholder in the SET-listed BGH with a 9.94% stake, second only to Dr Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth.
In the latest development, Mr Wichai has again sprung a media surprise, leading his new cable TV start-up, Cable Thai Holding Plc (CTH), to win the broadcast rights for English Premier League (EPL) football for Thailand, Cambodia and Laos over the next three seasons.
The company defeated existing giant operators such as TrueVisions, GMM Grammy and RS as well as Channel 7, which joined with Malaysian iTTV operator Cubic Associates Group on its bid.
With the EPL broadcast rights in hand, CTH expects cable TV subscriptions to double to 7 million households nationwide over the next three years.