Published On Mar 6, 2021
Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video we’re going to once again be discussing the WEALTH of Harry Potter. Now, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Harry was rich- filthy rich. I mean, maybe he wasn’t Malfoy rich or Lestrange rich, but he certainly had enough money- money which he was able to expertly preserve throughout the course of the films by having everything bought for him. Seriously, Harry didn’t have to buy anything. Hedwig? Hagrid. Nimbus 2000? McGonagall. Firebolt? Sirius.
We’re introduced to Harry’s masses of gold at the very beginning of the series- when Hagrid brings him to Gringotts and shows him vault 687. When Harry walks in, he’s visibly gobsmacked by the sheer volume of coins in front of him- a veritable assault on his senses. The family wealth started with the founding patriarch of the family - Linfred of Stinchcombe- a twelfth-century potioneer who was quite successful in the potions business. Harry’s grandfather, Fleamont Potter, continued the family business and made a fortune of his own- leaving it all to Harry’s father, James. This meant that naturally, when James died, the fortune was left to Harry- the fortune of centuries of successful potioneers.
So, now I think a good question is- what did Harry actually do with his money? Did he use it philanthropically? Did he use it to help the Weasleys? I mean, they were the family that took him in as one of their own. They also happened to struggle financially- I think I see an obvious use for his money here.
In stark contrast with harry we have the Weasleys who wee poor and I mean POOR. It wasn’t that Arthur had a bad job- it was just that him and Molly had SO many children. 7 sets of school supplies, 7 sets of clothes and 7 mouths to feed (8 if you include Harrys)- Arthur’s salary had to cover a LOT. Their financial situation became so dire that ‘Weasley’ almost became synonymous with ‘Poor’- something which Draco so fondly reminded them of whenever he had the chance:
“Think my name's funny, do you? Well, no need to ask yours. Red hair, and a hand-me-down-robe? You must be a Weasley.”
Molly didn’t work either, which was part of the problem, but in all fairness they did have 7 children- and I’m sure that’s no easy task taking care of them and keeping them all organized. However, I suppose she must have had a bit of a break when the kids were at Hogwarts. Right?
The bottom line is that they had no money- so my question is- did Harry ever help them out? Did he ever shell out some of that fortune to the family that was arguably more deserving of it than anyone else? For quite some time, Ron Weasley, Harry’s BEST FRIEND- went without a wand because it had broken. This hindered his education, and his family couldn’t afford to replace it. So, Why on EARTH didn’t Harry give Ron money for a new wand? I can sort of see why Harry might feel uncomfortable overtly handing over cash to Ron- but why couldn’t he have surprised him with a new wand? Why couldn’t he have sent money to Molly/Arthur to purchase it for him?
I get that the Wealsey’s are proud, and may not want to take money from Harry, but by paying for the wand Harry would simply becompensating them for something that was his fault in the first place- it doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s an uncomfortable affair, Harry may have felt odd giving Ron money, and I’m willing to bet that Ron would feel odd taking that money. But, why didn’t Harry do it through the teachers? What about anonymously?
Furthermore- Hogwarts offers financial aid which covers expenses related to materials / school supplies- so why didn’t Ron/The Weasleys take advantage of that?
As it turns out, the reason that Ron didn’t apply for financial aid is probably the same reason that they wouldn’t accept money from Harry - Molly’s pride.
‘That lot won’t come cheap,’ said George, with a quick look at his parents. ‘Lockhart’s books are really expensive ...’
‘Well, we’ll manage,’ said Mrs Weasley, but she looked worried.
I think that part of this pride stems from the fact that they actually had some money- it was just stretched so much among the family members that it made things difficult. Arthur had a respectable salary, it just wasn’t enough to cover everyone comfortably. Had they actually been properly poor, then maybe she would have been more receptive to the financial aid available to them.
So, Harry didn’t shell out for Ron’s wand- but did he ever help them out financially?
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