Even before his losses in the South Sea Bubble stock market crash of 1720, Wharton incurred heavy debts. He was so indebted that he sold his Irish estates and used that money to invest in South Sea Company stock. When the bubble burst, he lost the staggering sum of £120,000 ($26,200,000 USD | 2020) (in an era when a middle-class salary in London might be £200 a year). In response, he hired musicians and a hearse and held a public funeral for the South Sea Company. Wharton began to borrow money from Jacobite bankers and accumulated more debts. In 1719 Wharton is credited with founding the original Hellfire Club (not related to Dashwood's Hell-fire Club), which primarily performed parodies of religious rites. He became Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England in 1723, and was active in the House of Lords in opposition to Robert Walpole. In 1723, he wrote and spoke in favour of the exoneration of Francis Atterbury, the accused Jacobite bishop, although Atterbury's Jacobitism was superficial. He published The True Briton as a periodical to oppose the rise of Walpole. He was in favour of the Pretender not for religious or nationalist reasons but, he explained, because he was a true Old Whig like his father, whose principles had been betrayed by Walpole and the new non-native royals. His substantive change to Jacobitism occurred in 1725, when Wharton joined Earl Orrery in attacking the court. He made allies among city politicians, which was valuable to the Jacobites as Jacobitism had previously been associated with Scotland and disaffected country squires. The city had been a Whig stronghold and any erosion in their support would have powerful consequences. Indeed, although Wharton did not benefit from it, much of this would bear fruit in the emergence of the Patriot Whigs a few years later. At the same time, Wharton was £70,000 in debt. Debt and decline Wharton's debts were impossible for him to overcome. He accepted or sought the position as Jacobite ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire in Vienna in 1725, but the Austrians did not like Wharton, whom they did not consider a satisfactory diplomat. His dissipated lifestyle also offended the more severe Austrians. He then went to Rome, where James gave him the Order of the Garter, which Wharton wore publicly. He moved on to Madrid. Wharton's wife died in 1726, and he married Maria