Economics in the Harry Potter world is weird, not least because there's a single bank controlling all the money.
But who has (or needs) the biggest chamber at Gringotts? Who is the richest wizard?
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15if "Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure" then that changes the math a bit ;)– NKCampbellCommented Aug 15, 2019 at 20:20
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3The biggest chamber doesn't mean the richest wizard.– marcellothearcaneCommented Aug 15, 2019 at 21:09
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14Nicolas Flamel has philosopher's stone, it can turn lead to gold.– OniCommented Aug 15, 2019 at 22:20
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3The result is that they {the Malfoys} 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.– ValorumCommented Aug 15, 2019 at 23:56
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2The Goblins think all money is theirs...– TheAshCommented Sep 23, 2019 at 13:15
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1 Answer
One fairly obvious answer of who the richest wizard is might be Bellatrix Lestrange, as in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we can see how much stuff she has in her vault. However the true answer is shown all the way back in the Philosophiser's Stone (or the Sorcerer's Stone for Americans), and that is the Philosopher himself- Nicolas Flamel. In chapter 13 of the book, Harry, Hermione and Ron complete their search for any mention of Flamel in the library, finding a book that tells them all about him.
“Nicolas Flamel,” [Hermione] whispered dramatically, “is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!”
And later on in the chapter:
The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Philosopher’s Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).
The fact that the stone will transform any metal into pure gold makes it obvious that as he is the only living owner of a philosopher's stone, he is likely the richest.
Here's some more info about Flamel and his journey to making the stone: https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/the-real-nicolas-flamel-and-the-philosophers-stone
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1None of those are canon sources of info about the wealthiest wizards. They're just the wealthiest that the books talk about, and even then there's scanty evidence which is the wealthiest.– ValorumCommented Jan 14 at 22:06
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And as per my objection to all the other (now deleted) answers, these clickbait magazine articles all rely on quoting selectively from the books, then extrapolating wildly.– ValorumCommented Jan 14 at 22:07
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2I fail to see how having the ability to make gold makes Flamel the richest wizard. At best, bearing in mind that he seems to live relatively modestly, you could argue that if he wanted to be the richest, he could be– ValorumCommented Jan 14 at 22:42
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1Also the question is "Who's the wealthiest", not "name some wealthy wizards". Bellatrix is certainly wealthy, but can you show an iota of proof that she's the most wealthy?– ValorumCommented Jan 14 at 22:44
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1Her vault just demonstrates that she has a lot of wealth. Who's to say that the next vault over isn't even more fabulously full of gold?– ValorumCommented Jan 14 at 22:59