 Ironically, the most useful part of his being a diplomat was being able to return home to Florence without being thrown into debtor's prison.His attempts to start his own bank failed, his past services to the Medici and the Duchy of Burgundy were forgotten, and he died a pauper in the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, which his ancestor Folco di Ricovero Portinari had founded in 1288.His estate was so meager and his business dealings so dubious that his inheriting son refused to inherit the estate, so as to avoid any possible overdue debts.