Summary
- Money is a form of power in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, with the richest characters often having the most influence and control.
- Not all of the wealthiest characters come from old money or pure-blood backgrounds. Some characters, like Hagrid and Neville, accumulate wealth through their occupations or family connections.
- Characters like Fred and George Weasley and Gilderoy Lockhart find success and financial comfort through entrepreneurship and fame, despite not coming from affluent backgrounds.
Even in a world filled with magic, money is still power, and that's true in the Harry Potter series as well (for the most part) as the richest Harry Potter characters tend to be the ones with all the influence. Fans are introduced to characters from all walks of life in the franchise, but there's no denying that the rich (and normally the Pure Bloods) hold the keys to wizarding society. See Voldemort's lineup of wealthy Death Eaters for proof of that.
Not everyone in the top 1% of the Wizarding World comes from old money though. While there are those descended from generations of Pure Blood aristocracy with a bursting Gringotts vault to prove it, others rely on a 9 to 5 to get by just like the wand-less Muggles. Wherever they get their cash, some definitely have more to go around than others. It's impossible to determine every Harry Potter character's net worth, but the wealth of one character can be compared to another to determine who has the most money.
Related: The Most Powerful Families In Harry Potter, Ranked
Rubeus Hagrid
Hagrid, groundskeeper and eventual Care of Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts, might not seem like the richest of Harry Potter characters at first glance. He, however, is certainly wealthy when logic is applied to exactly how much money he takes in versus how much money he spends. Hagrid has been the groundskeeper at Hogwarts essentially since he was kicked out of school, which means he has a home year-round that he doesn’t have to pay for.
Hagrid also gets a salary as a groundskeeper, and then a salary as a professor. Most of that money he’s earning, he’s not really spending since most of what he could need is provided by Hogwarts. Sure, he plays the occasional card game and has a few drinks at the pub in Hogsmeade, but other than that, Hagrid is a relatively low-key character. He’s not spending money on extravagant robes, the latest brooms, or heading to popular vacation spots. In theory, Hagrid is likely one of the richest Harry Potter characters in the franchise without anyone knowing.
Neville Longbottom
Just how wealthy the Longbottom family is never gets brought up in the Harry Potter franchise. Some might have believed they weren't wealthy since Neville uses a hand-me-down wand for the first few years of school. The wand, however, belonged to his father, who was a well-respected Auror who was tortured by Death Eaters when Neville was an infant, so it's unlikely that Neville was expected to use it because he had to, but instead, because it was a family heirloom. Neville's wand was replaced as soon as it was broken.
Neville's grandmother wore extravagant ensembles and custom hats, and clearly had no trouble spending money on her grandson or keeping Neville's parents well-cared for in a hospital after they were tortured. The Longbottoms are also a well-respected pure blood family in the Wizarding World, not experiencing the same level of scorn as the Weasleys, who have less money and influence. It's easy to assume then that Neville and his grandmother have a substantial amount of wealth.
Fred and George Weasley
While the Weasleys aren’t known for their wealth, Fred and George first started turning a profit at school before using their talents for mischief to open Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. Despite only being open for a matter of months, it's one of the few Diagon Alley stores thriving in Half-Blood Prince and makes a killing within the Hogwarts community. Before the two even have enough money to open the shop, they've got a built-in business at Hogwarts as students love their products.
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Hundreds of orders are also placed from the Ministry for the joke shop's more practical, anti-dark magic line. With the biggest possible client in wizarding Britain on their side, it's no wonder the pair are already living a lifestyle filled with dragon-skin jackets and gold jewelry in their first year of business.
Horace Slughorn
The first time fans meet Slughorn, he’s squatting in a Muggle home to evade Death Eaters. What should be a miserable situation is still pretty luxurious, as Slughorn is loaded with gifts from decades of priming his most promising students for success. Slughorn is a character who loves to put himself among the most influential and the richest characters in Harry Potter as well, so he picks up quite a few items that are worth a lot of money from his powerful friends.
50 years' worth of salary as both one of Hogwarts' best Potions Masters and Head of Slytherin — as well as the fact Hogwarts staff get free room and board — means he must have plenty of savings. Add on his prestigious Pure-Blood heritage confirmed in Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists, and he's one of the wealthiest characters in the series.
Albus Dumbledore
Being the most intelligent headmaster in Hogwarts' history must come with a decent paycheck. Even though Dumbledore doesn't live the flashiest of lifestyles, he spends around 30 years at the helm of Britain's only wizarding school, earning what is surely one of the best salaries in the country.
Considering he also seems to live there full-time, it's safe to assume he has little to no expenses. This already makes him wealthy, but he also moonlights as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Only somebody this brilliant could juggle three such powerful positions, and the financial reward must be steep.
Garrick Ollivander
Ollivander isn't just regarded as the best wandmaker in the UK, but the entire world. This kind of prestige attracts high traffic and his shop in Diagon Alley is the first port of call for every young witch and wizard looking to buy their first wand.
Related: 10 Unanswered Questions We Still Have About Wands In Harry Potter
Based on these sales alone, Ollivander doesn't make a fortune. Each costs just 10 galleons, and most people only purchase one in their lifetime unless, like Ron Weasley, their wand becomes so badly damaged that they need a new one. However, the science of wands is a serious subject. As the wizarding world's top wand lore expert - in demand from Voldemort himself - he can command a hefty fee.
Gilderoy Lockhart
Even if Lockhart's money-making method wasn't the most moral in the world, its effectiveness is undeniable. By stealing the stories of amazing (yet not commercially attractive) wizards before removing their memories, his fake heroic tales became bestsellers that made him a household name.
In addition to book royalties, Lockhart was also pulling in fees for appearances and book signings, not to mention a year's salary for being one of the worst Hogwarts professors. If his memory charm hadn't backfired in Chamber of Secrets, his scheme would inevitably have continued to rake in more cash for years to come and continue his time as one of the richest Harry Potter characters.
Sirius Black
As the last remaining descendent of the House of Black, Sirius inherits centuries of gold, heirlooms, and unwanted Pure-Blood prejudice. In addition to his ancestral home of 12 Grimmauld Place, he possesses all that was left to him by his Uncle Alphard. Even though his family disowned him, he also has the contents of his family vault thanks to the male line of inheritance, which essentially sits unbothered while he spends over a decade in Azkaban.
While it's never explicitly revealed how much this contains, it has to be a sizable amount. Only the wealthiest of families own House Elves, and the Black family has owned them for decades. Also, Sirius has enough gold to casually gift Harry the broom equivalent of a sports car in Prisoner of Azkaban.
Harry Potter
The Boy Who Lived is many things, including rich. Not only is he the heir to the Potter family fortune, but later inherited everything Sirius Black owned. Harry is awed at his own wealth in Sorcerer's Stone and wastes no time in delving in, treating his friends to expensive gifts (like buying the entire snack trolley on the train for Ron) without a second thought.
It's tough to put a number on Harry Potter's net worth, but fans have given it a lot of thought. One Reddit theory places it at around $1,265,625.00. Even without a precise comparison to real-world currency, the fact he could give away 1000 galleons to Fred and George without blinking for them to start their joke shop suggests he's extremely comfortable. With a successful career in magical law enforcement, this definitely didn't change after defeating Voldemort either
Lucius Malfoy
According to the Sacred Twenty-Eight - a list provided by Rowling through Pottermore - the Malfoys are one of the most powerful families in wizarding Britain. Their wealth is what gives both Lucius and his son Draco their arrogance and allows them to throw their fortunes in the faces of those less well-off, such as the Weasleys.
Related: 10 Things About The Malfoys That Make No Sense In Harry Potter
A lot of this money may have come from Narcissa's side of the family, the Blacks, but Lucius definitely has his own riches. He doesn't work, yet is the master of Malfoy Manor, and previously owned his own House-elf. Prior to Voldemort's return, he is among society's most influential wizards, rubbing shoulders with Fudge despite previously being a known Death Eater. It's funny what multiple big donations can make people forget even in the world of Harry Potter.
Bellatrix Lestrange
Before Bellatrix got married, she was known as Bellatrix Black. As the eldest of three sisters, Bellatrix was first in line to inherit their parents' possessions when they died. She also would have merged her assets with those of her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange (another bloodline featured in the Sacred Twenty-Eight).
The most convincing proof lies in Bellatrix's vault. Gringotts is already difficult to steal from, but Bellatrix's money and heirlooms lie in the bank's high-security levels, reserved for items important enough to be guarded by a dragon. Its contents include towers of gold, jewels, and treasures, incomparable to anything else seen in the series. Bellatrix even has items that belonged to Hogwarts founders hidden among her wealth. She has more than enough to support her for life, which is lucky, as it's doubtful Voldemort pays even his most powerful Death Eater a salary.
Nicolas Flamel
Despite being critical to the first Harry Potter movie, audiences only met the creator of the Sorcerer's Stone in Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald. The alchemist has been around since 1330 and with the Stone managed to create an elixir to grant eternal life and transform any metal into pure gold.
What this essentially means is unlimited money. By the time Flamel is forced to destroy the Stone to keep it from Voldemort's grasp, he's been alive for over 600 years, which is enough time to produce unimaginable quantities of money. This is the only known item like it in the Wizarding World, putting Flamel in a league of his own. Nicolas Flamel is easily the richest character in Harry Potter.