Top 5 Richest Wizards in Harry Potter Universe

In the world of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, the power of different witches and wizards is sometimes hard to judge. Some characters stand out as the most powerful or as the weakest. So, today I’ll be talking about the top 5 richest wizards in Harry Potter Universe.

5. Gilderoy Lockhart

Gilderoy Lockhart, the bestselling author of twelve books, was a wizarding world celebrity. His non-fiction novels recounting his adventures sold rapidly and resulted in his employment as Professor of Defense Against The Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Due to his novels and his established wage from the school he’s comfortably well-off. Throughout the ‘Harry Potter books, there are mentions of his extravagant clothes and hints that he collects beautiful artifacts.

In addition to this, he won many prestigious awards such as the Order of Merlin (which is notably known to also have been awarded to the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore) and became an Honorary Member of the Dark Forces Defense League. He stands as number four on our list because his wealth came from independent work while the richer characters on our list come from old money.

Lockhart’s status and his work, though, make him a steady earner: He continued to write even after his incarceration at St Mungo’s when he lost his mind. His last novel, ‘Who Am I?’, would have been read by many of his fans, bringing him more royalties.

4. Harry Potter

For a boy who’s only twelve when he comes into his fortune, this is fully a substantial amount of money. This figure was pulled from the Gringotts Bank and through information gleaned from Harry’s money being discussed within the books. It’s told at the very beginning that James Potter, Harry’s father, was born into a wealthy family and left the majority of that money to Harry.

When Harry leaves Privet Drive and obtains money from his vault with Hagrid, it’s mentioned that he has enough to last through his Hogwarts years and has a lot leftover afterward. When he has to buy equipment for school he does so easily and doesn’t skimp on the luxuries. When Ron wants to buy sweets from the trolley, Harry buys Despite untrammeled favors it all for him. Harry doesn’t flash his cash regularly, but it’s clear he’s wealthy.

Harry goes on to become an Auror, one of the most prestigious jobs in the wizarding world, so it stands to reason that in his later life Harry was rich. In addition, Harry won the Triwizard Tournament in ‘Goblet of Fire’. The winner of the Tournament received 1000 Galleons. Harry gave that money to Fred and George Weasley so they could start their shop. This money wasn’t needed by Harry because he had enough of his own.

Although Harry is generous, he’s not stupid and would have known to keep some of it if he needed to. Harry is number four on our list because of the inheritance he gained from his godfather, Sirius Black. Merging that money with his father would make him a rich man indeed.

3. The Malfoys

Like many other progenitors of noble English families, the wizard Armand Malfoy arrived in Britain with William the Conqueror as part of the invading Norman army. Having rendered unknown, shady 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.

The Malfoys have always had the reputation, hinted at by their not altogether complimentary surname, of being a slippery bunch, to be found courting power and riches wherever they might be found.

With that healthy degree of self-preservation that has characterized most of their actions over the centuries, once the Statute of Secrecy had passed into law the Malfoys ceased fraternizing with Muggles, however well-born, and accepted that further opposition and protests could only distance them from the new heart of power: the newly created Ministry of Magic. It is oftentimes said of the Malfoy family that you will never find one at the scene of the crime, though their fingerprints might be all over the guilty wand.

Independently wealthy, with no need to work for a living, they have generally preferred the role of power behind the throne, happy for others to do the donkey work and to take the responsibility for failure. They have helped finance many of their preferred candidates’ election campaigns, which have included paying for dirty work such as hexing the opposition.

The family has, however, eschewed the somewhat dangerous practice of inter-marrying within such a small pool of pure-bloods that they become enfeebled or unstable, unlike a small minority of fanatic families such as the Gaunts and Lestranges, and many a half-blood appears on the Malfoy family tree.

Notable Malfoys of past generations include the fourteenth-century Nicholas Malfoy, who is believed to have dispatched many a fractious Muggle tenant under the guise of the Black Death, though escaping censure by the Wizards’ Council; Septimus Malfoy, who was greatly influential at the Ministry in the late eighteenth century, many claiming that Minister for Magic Unctuous Osbert was little more than his puppet; and Abraxas Malfoy, who was widely believed to be part of the shady plot that saw the first Muggle-born Minister leave his post prematurely in 1968.

Lucius, Abraxas’s son, achieved notoriety as one of Lord Voldemort’s Death Eaters, although he successfully evaded prison after both of Lord Voldemort’s attempted coups. On the first occasion, he claimed to have been acting under the Imperius Curse, on the second occasion, he provided evidence against fellow Death Eaters and helped ensure the capture of many of Lord Voldemort’s followers who had fled into hiding.

Despite their espousal of pure-blood values and their undoubtedly genuine belief in wizards’ superiority over Muggles, the Malfoys have never been above ingratiating themselves with the non-magical community when it suits them. The result is that they are one of the richest wizarding families in Britain, and it has been rumored for many years (though never proven) that over the centuries the family has dabbled successfully in Muggle currency and assets.

2. Bellatrix Lestrange

Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius’s sister-in-law, is a different kettle of fish. Though within the same family as Sirius Black, Bellatrix’s lifestyle makes it evident that she’s very rich. She, unlike Lucius, has no children so her money has stayed her own. We guess she’s too engrossed in her own work for the Dark Lord to consider frivolities like extravagant shopping sprees.

Like Sirius, her cousin, she spent a large portion of her life in Azkaban prison so her fortune stayed intact whilst she was away. Harry, Ron, and Hermione visit Bellatrix’s vault in Gringotts towards the end of the series, and it’s described as being “crammed from floor to ceiling with golden coins and goblets.” Her vault is under high security not just because the Dark Lord is hiding a Horcrux inside – but because of the enormous fortune.

1. Nicolas Flamel

In spite of being critical of 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 Nicolas Flamel was 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.