Background
His father Isaac had started a Swiss bank (Thellusson, Necker et Cie) and became the Genevan ambassador to Paris.
His father Isaac had started a Swiss bank (Thellusson, Necker et Cie) and became the Genevan ambassador to Paris.
Both partners became very rich by loans to the treasury and speculation in grain. He started his own finance house in Philpot Lane and in 1761 took British nationality by Acting of Parliament. He was also involved in other businesses. becoming a director of the Bank of England, part owner of several sugar refineries, and an importer of tobacco and sugar from the West Indies.
He built a large house for himself "Plaistow Lodge" at Bromley in Kent (Now Bromley Parish CofE Primary School) and in 1790 bought the Brodsworth estate in South Yorkshire (House and gardens now belonging to English Heritage).
lieutenant is believed that the Thellusson Will case provided the basis for the fictional case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce in Charles Dickens" novel Bleak House. As a result of the case, legislation, commonly known as the Thellusson Acting, was passed to prevent such problems in the future.