Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be taking a look at a couple of things. First- how was Harry Potter so rich? Where
did he get all of that money from? Secondly- we’re going to be taking a look at the books/films
in order to determine if Harry ended up holding on to all of that wealth. We know that in
the Philosopher’s Stone he’s got a vault FULL OF it- but, what came of it all? Harry’s
a good guy- did he spend it philanthropically? Did he spend it-greedily? Though it’s mentioned
a few more times in the books- his wealth isn’t ever really revisited in the films.
I’ve touched on this topic a little bit in the past, but today’s video is going
to be a more extensive look at the wealth of Harry Potter. If we go back all the way
to the year 2001- when the Philosopher’s Stone was first released- we get our first
glance at the riches of Harry Potter on-screen. We had read about it in the books, but this
was our first real opportunity to see his stacks of gold with our own eyes. When Hagrid
brings Harry to vault 687- he sees his fortune for the first time- and it appears to be a
completely ludicrous amount of gold.
So, what gives? Where did it come from?
Now, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that there’s certainly a class system even
in the magical world. On one end of the spectrum there are the Weasley’s- who are quite obviously
portrayed to be a bit poor, and on the other side there are the Malfoys who openly and
arrogantly flaunt their wealth. But the truth is that the Malfoys aren’t the only wealthy
family in the wizarding world- in fact, Harry’s family- the Potters- did quite well for themselves.
But we know that it didn’t originate from Lily and James- Harry’s parents- as they
were only 21 years old when they died. We also know that it didn’t originate from
Lily’s side, as her parents were muggles. So- who helped the Potter family to amass
all of their wealth? It turns out that it all started with the founding patriarch of
the Potter family- Linfred of Stinchcombe- a twelfth-century potioneer who was quite
successful in his field.
Linfred was responsible for creating remedies still used to this day, including Skele-gro
which interestingly enough was actually used on Harry in the Chamber of secrets. The function
of skele-gro is quite simple, and that is to heal bones. It can repair broken bones
or grow back missing bones entirely. Linfred’s next successful potion was the pepperup potion,
a cure for the common cold that helps to warm the recipient up.
Provided that Linfred was so successful in his field, it should come as no surprise that
the Potter family lineage continued to follow in his footsteps. Next in line it was Fleamont
Potter, Harry’s grandfather and James’ dad, who continued to invent potions and rake
in the cash. Fleamont never met Harry, but he did live long enough to make and leave
him enough gold for a lifetime. Fleamont took the family fortune and quadrupled it by creating
the famous Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion.
So, all of this should answer the question of Harry’s wealth- but now what I want to
discuss is: did he keep it all? Was he still wealthy by the end of the Deathly Hallows-
or did he manage to spend it? Let’s take a look:
The state of Harry’s fortune is mentioned numerous times throughout the books, starting
with the Chamber of Secrets:
“Harry said nothing. He felt a bit awkward. Stored in an underground vault at Gringotts
in London was a small fortune that his parents had left him. Of course, it was only in the
wizarding world that he had money; you couldn’t use Galleons, Sickles and Knuts in Muggle
shops. He had never mentioned his Gringotts bank account to the Dursleys; he didn’t
think their horror of anything connected with magic would stretch to a large pile of gold.”
And it quickly becomes clear that, as early as the Chamber of Secrets- Harry felt guilty
about the piles of gold in his vault.
“Harry felt even worse when they reached his vault. He tried to block the contents
from view as he hastily shoved handfuls of coins into a leather bag.”
Next Harry’s gold is mentioned in the Prisoner of Azkban:
“Once Harry had refilled his money bag with gold Galleons, silver Sickles and bronze Knuts
from his vault at Gringotts, he needed to exercise a lot of self-control not to spend
the whole lot at once. He had to keep reminding himself that he had five years to go at Hogwarts,
and how it would feel to ask the Dursleys for money for spellbooks.”
As early as the Prisoner of Azkaban it appears that Harry is being smart with his finances-
resisting the temptation to buy everything even though he could afford it. Harry’s
not just a wizard- he’s a financially savvy wizard.
Next, his wealth is mentioned in the Goblet of Fire, when Ron makes a bit of a questionable
comment regarding Harry’s finances:
‘The gold I gave you at the Quidditch World Cup,’ said Ron. ‘The leprechaun gold I
gave you for my Omnioculars. In the Top Box. Why didn’t you tell me it disappeared?’
Harry had to think for a moment before he realised what Ron was talking about. ‘Oh
…’ he said, the memory coming back to him at last. ‘I dunno … I never noticed
it had gone. I was more worried about my wand, wasn’t I?’
They climbed the steps into the Entrance Hall and went into the Great Hall for lunch.
‘Must be nice,’ Ron said abruptly, when they had sat down and started serving themselves
roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. ‘To have so much money you don’t notice if a pocketful
of Galleons goes missing.’
And next, when Harry’s wealth is mentioned in the Order of the Phoenix- we see another
glimpse of Harry’s philanthropic side when he donates 1000 galleons to the Weasley twins.
An important distinction to make here however, is that this was EXTRA money Harry had won:
“Harry grinned. He had forced the Weasley twins to take the thousand Galleons prize
money he had won in the Triwizard Tournament to help them realise their ambition to open
a joke shop, but he was still glad to know that his part in furthering their plans was
unknown to Mrs Weasley. She did not think running a joke shop was a suitable career
for two of her sons.”
Next, as far on as the Half-Blood Prince- Harry’s fortune is mentioned once again
when Bill Weasley passes Harry a bag of his own gold:
Bill, who would be staying at home with Fleur (much to Hermione and Ginny’s pleasure),
passed a full money-bag across the table to Harry.
‘Where’s mine?’ demanded Ron at once, his eyes wide.
‘That’s already Harry’s, idiot,’ said Bill. ‘I got it out of your vault for you,
Harry, because it’s taking about five hours for the public to get to their gold at the
moment, the goblins have tightened security so much. ‘Thanks, Bill,’ said Harry, pocketing
his gold.
And finally, Harry’s gold is mentioned once more in the final book: Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows. However, in this quote it is only ‘alluded to’ not mentioned specifically.
“Gringotts had seemed a place of wonder that day, the enchanted repository of a trove
of gold he had never known he possessed, and never for an instant could he have dreamed
that he would return to steal … But within seconds they were standing in the vast marble
hall of the bank.”
Harry, however, didn’t come to steal gold- it turns out he still had plenty of that.
So, in conclusion- how much gold did Harry have left by the end of the book/film series?
I don’t have an exact amount, but it was enough that he barely noticed a dent in the
tremendous pile we’re introduced to in the Philosopher’s Stone. As late as the Half-Blood
Prince Harry still had bags of gold to spare, and I think this is largely because over the
course of his life- things always seemed to be given to him. It’s a classic case of
the rich just getting richer.
And that’s it for this video! Did you guys know how Harry got rich? Did you ever wonder
about the state of his finances AFTER the first film? Let me know in the comment section
below.
Until next time
As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose
above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things
that are worst for them.