Hey everyone, welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today’s video is going to be discussing the 5 RICHEST Wizarding families in the ENTIRE
Wizarding World.
Let’s get in to the video.
The concepts of money and status make appearances all over the place in the Harry Potter story-
starting right at the beginning.
In the very first book we get Draco boasting about his family’s wealth, we get the impression
that perhaps Ron and the Weasley’s aren’t doing quite so well, and to top it all off-
we get to see Harry’s absolutely ridiculous stack of gold inside vault 687 at Gringotts.
Gringotts Wizarding Bank was the sole financial institution for the wizarding community in
Great Britain and was run by goblins.
It was established in 1474 by a goblin named Gringott and its headquarters was located
in the North Side of Diagon Alley, London.
The bank served as a storage facility for wizarding money and valuables, and provided
an easy way for wizards and witches to exchange Muggle currency for wizarding money.
This is demonstrated by Hermione Granger's parents when they traded Muggle money for
wizarding money to pay for her school supplies.
Now, provided that Gringotts handles the cashflow of nearly every witch and wizard in the magical
world- there must be some SERIOUSLY immense vaults full of gold kicking about.
In the world of Harry Potter, there are many wealthy wizarding families, but only a select
few can claim the title of the richest.
Today, we'll be exploring the top 5 richest wizarding families and delving into their
immense wealth, their ancestral homes, and their powerful magical legacies.
So buckle up and get ready to be transported into the world of wizarding wealth and luxury.
5.
Gilderoy Lockhart
In 1982, British wizard Gilderoy Lockhart finally graduated from Hogwarts, at which
point he began travelling all around the world.
Shortly after graduating, he began to build prominence as an author- telling his readers
tales of his heroism and illustrious magical ability.
These same tales eventually brought him considerable fame and, as it turns out, fortune.
He was a dark wizard catcher, a dragon tamer, a troll conqueror - if there was a dark and
powerful presence in the world, Lockhart had vanquished it all by himself.
The catch?
Only he was there to witness it.
After each and every time that Lockhart travelled, he would return home with a new book, filled
with self-promotion, heroism and extravagance, and it really left a positive impression on
the magical population.
He’d hold book signings all over the magical world, and people loved to be near Lockhart.
In fact, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing Lockhart’s face or novel plastered
all along the insides of shop windows.
So, what’s my point?
Well- Lockhart became filthy Rich of course.
Through his book sales he was able to live a luxurious lifestyle, traveling the world,
staying in fancy hotels, and wearing expensive clothing.
4.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter’s wealth in the Harry Potter story is certainly no secret- and we’re
exposed to it as early as the Philosopher’s Stone- when we’re first introduced to vault
687 at Gringotts.
Harry has piles and piles of gold- and his immense wealth is mentioned time and time
again throughout the Harry Potter story.
But obviously, since Harry was just a wee lad, the money wasn’t earned by him.
But that certainly doesn’t mean that Harry didn’t have a plethora of wealthy ancestors.
As it turns out, the Potter family fortune started with the founding Patriarch of the
family, Linfred of Stinchcombe, a revolutionary potioner that began to amass riches in the
Potter name.
Following him in the family business was Fleamont Potter, Harry’s grandfather, who had all
sorts of success of his own.
In short- Harry had fat stacks of cash, but his fortune only grew after the death of Sirius
Black.
The Black fortune was immense- and though Sirius didn’t have access to all of it,
he certainly wasn’t skint.
This meant that after his death all of the money went to Harry- making him one of the
richest wizards in the wizarding world.
3.
The Malfoys
The Malfoys always seem to be praised as wealthy individuals- right?
That’s correct, but interestingly, as it turns out, the generational wealth that the
Malfoy’s possess started with a wizard named Armand Malfoy who arrived in Britain with
William the Conqueror.
“Having rendered unknown, shady (and almost certainly magical) services to King William
I, Malfoy was given a prime piece of land in Wiltshire, seized from local landowners,
upon which his descendants have lived for ten consecutive centuries.”
Having land ownership so early on in history gave them a rather advantageous start, and
this is reinforced by Pottermore:
“The result is that they are one of the richest wizarding families in Britain, and
it has been rumoured for many years (though never proven) that over the centuries the
family has dabbled successfully in Muggle currency and assets.”
2.
Bellatrix + Rodolphous Lestrange
“The old goblin obeyed, pressing his palm to the wood, and the door of the vault melted
away to reveal a cave-like opening crammed from floor to ceiling with golden coins and
goblets, silver armour, skins of strange creatures, some with long spines, others with drooping
wings, potions in jewelled, and a skull still wearing it's crown.”
The above passage of course describes the entrance to the vault of none other than Bellatrix
Lestrange.
Bellatrix Lestrange was a pure-blood witch that hailed from the Black family- and later
married in to the pure-blood Lestrange family.
Both the Black family and Lestrange families were wealthy in their own right-both stemming
from the ‘Sacred Twenty-Eight’, a directory of truly pure-blood families that still existed
within the wizarding world.
Each family was immensely wealthy-with ‘old’ money passing down from generation to generation.
Bellatrix, and her husband Rodolphous, ended up with a large portion of the money from
both family trees, and the combination of these fortunes made them some of the richest
people in the entire wizarding world- overshadowing even the Malfoys.
1.
Nicolas Flamel
You probably didn’t guess this one.
Nicolas Flamel was a French scribe born in the 1300s in the city of Pontoise.
On a day-to-day basis, Flamel worked as a scribe and manuscript-seller, and ran two
shops offering these services in Paris.
Flamel achieved a great deal of success in his career and as a result became quite wealthy.
However- that’s not where the REAL money came from.
You see, Flamel, an alchemical master, created an object named ‘The Philosopher’s Stone’.
The Philosopher's Stone is a legendary alchemical substance that has the power to turn ordinary
metals into gold.
The process of transforming base metals into gold is known as "transmutation" and was one
of the central goals of alchemy.
The Philosopher's Stone was believed to have the ability to perform this transmutation
quickly and efficiently, as well as bestow eternal life and youth upon the person who
possesses it.
In the world of Harry Potter, the Philosopher's Stone is also capable of producing an Elixir
of Life, which can cure all diseases and grant immortality to the drinker.
In creating gold, the stone works by using its immense magical power to alter the molecular
structure of the metal, causing it to transform into gold.
Flamel of course eventually dies, but in the 666 or 670 odd years that he existed on the
planet, I’m sure he had one or two opportunities to turn objects in to gold.
In fact, I’m willing to bet that he capitalized on it.
Add that to the already IMMENSE wealth that he and Perennelle held, and well, we’ve
got a winner.
If you guys want more of a deep dive in to the Harry Potter family wealth then check
out my video: ‘Why Were harry’s parents so rich’.
Similarly, if you want an explanation as to why ALL wizards aren’t rich (shouldn’t
it be easy?) check out my video ‘why are some wizards poor?’.
What do you guys think?
Did I miss anyone?
Would you rearrange this list?
Comment down below.
Until next time
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live