Sir Theodore Janssen

Theodore Janssen was a French-born English financier and politician who after a long and prosperous mercantile career got involved in the famous South Sea Bubble and almost lost everything.

Before his father Abraham Janssen was beheaded by the Duke of Parma for rebellion in the Netherlands, he gave to Theodore £20,000 and sent him to England. A young and resourceful Theodore bought Wimbledon manor, and in the following years prospered as financier and MP for Yarmouth. He was a founding-member and the first director of the Bank of England established in 1694. In 1715 King William knighted him and Queen Anne made him a baronet at the request of the future King George I.

However, his business interests in the South Sea Company of which he was director proved to be fatal for his career and personal life. Following the collapse of the company, Janssen was together with other directors arrested and summoned before the House of Commons. The consequences were severe - he was dismissed as Member of Parliament, lost £50,000 in the crash and was fined half his £500,000 fortune.
Despite these unfortunate events, Janssen died as an affluent man and all his sons inherited the baronetcy.