William Jennens

William Jennens (possibly Jennings) (1701–1798), also known as William the Miser, William the Rich, and The Miser of Acton, was a reclusive financier who lived at Acton Place in the village of Acton, Suffolk, England. He was described as the "richest commoner in England" when he died unmarried and intestate with a fortune estimated at £2 million, which became the subject of legal wrangles (Jennens v Jennens) in the Court of Chancery for well over a century despite the fact that all Jennen's real and personal estate had been distributed to his closest living relatives in a relatively short time after his death. The Jennens case is often cited as having provided inspiration for Jarndyce v Jarndyce in Charles Dickens' serialised novel Bleak House.