Potter family wealth (WAS Re: A journey "into...)

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 161663

---  Dantzel Withers <shmantzel at ...> wrote:
>
> chawesome100
> We can assume that the amount of money in Harry's 
> account is quite a bit as we can compare it to another
> family's account; the Weasleys. ... J.K even says that
> their was "a small fortune hidden underneath London..."
> ... while Harry might not be 'rich' is certaintly well 
> off. 
> 
>    
> Dantzel replies:
>    
> I never assumed Harry was extremely rich, but we are 
> told by Hagrid as well in the first book that Harry 
> would have plenty of money 'at least until you're out 
> of school', I believe he said. Considering that most 
> of us cannot live off of our savings for at least 7 
> years, it is fairly safe to assume that they're well 
> off.
>    
> Besides, even if they WEREN'T, Harry is now, considering
> that we KNOW the Blacks were wealthy and Harry just 
> inherited all of their gold with Sirius's passing.
>    
> Dantzel

bboyminn:

Don't really have much to add other than to agree with
the conclusions reached here, that Harry is 'well off'
but not necessarily '/rich/-rich'. I will however add a
couple of details for your consideration.

- Harry is very conservative with his money, other than
an ice cream cone for Ron and Hermione and the Omnoculars
at the Quidditch World Cup, we don't see Harry spending
his money like it was lottery winnings. He is certainly
tempted as when the New Firebolt comes out, but he 
resists that temptation, and thinks about his future. He
is not so foolish a child as to think his small fortune
is an inexhaustable supply of money. He basically takes
money for school supplies and a bit for 'pocket money'
to buy tea and snacks occassionally. Note that at the 
end of the year, Harry still seems to have a bit of
his pocket money still in his pocket.

Also, Harry doesn't have any real expenses; no rent, 
utilities, food, mortgage, auto insurance, etc.... Being 
a kid, he lacks the many necessary expenses that make 
life hard for most adults.

- Oddly the Potter's wealth seems to be all in /cash/.
One would assume that even a modest upper-middle class
family would have a family home and probably some land.
But, so far, there has been no indication that Harry has
these things. There is no indication that there is a 
Potter ancestral home lurking about in the background.

Also, note that no house means no House-Elves lurking 
about in the background.

I suspect, as a means of explanation, that James Potter
sold off all his tangible assest (house, land, business
holding, etc...) and converted them to cash. That way if
the bad guys happened to win, he could just take the money
and run. He could move to France, Holland, or Germany 
while he lived comfortably and worked toward mounting a
resistance against the occupying force of Dark Wizards.

If he had had land, house, business, etc..., they would 
have surely all been lost when Voldemort took over. 

I can't say for sure that happened but it is a reasonable
backstory to explain why the Potter wealth is all in cash.

- "This is, in the main, fairly straight forward," 
Dumbledore went on. "You add a reasonable amount of gold
to your account at Gringotts, and you inherit all of 
Sirius's personal possession. The only slightly 
problematic part of the legacy --". (HBP, Am Ed, PB, Pg
49)

"...a reasonable amount of gold..."; is Dumbledore just
being modest? Is he intentionally understating that 
matter of the Black family 'fortune'? Not all old money
families are truly wealthy. There are many of England'a 
nobility who have substantial assests, a large castle for
example, but really have little cash and little income.
Remember the upkeep and the taxes on a castle are
astronomical. The heating bill alone would bankrupt 
most of us. (Naturally, getting a job is out of the
question for England's great nobility.)

Also, note that the Black parents have been dead for a 
few years, that means they still have some basic expenses
but no means of generating income. They don't seem to 
hold any landed estates, so that rules out that as a 
source of income. That means their fortune is probably
shrinking rather than growing.

So again, I ponder, is the Black family fortune in any way
a fortune, or is it just a 'reasonable amount of gold'? 
Is Dumbledore being literal or just modest in his speech?

- Lastly being 11 years old and finding you had a huge pile
of gold, could any of us resist spending it like if was
lottery money? I think Harry shows great restraint. Far 
more restraint than I could.

Keep in mind though that Harry has always been poor, and
I think he would appreciate the money, and not want to 
squander it.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn