--- description: But exactly how rich is the chosen one? title: Someone Finally Figured Out How Much Harry Potter Wizarding Money Is Actually Worth image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb4711a1a0ed8266/698784b655a859b7a4a866b3/harry-potter-owl1.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Someone Finally Figured Out How Much _Harry Potter_ Wizarding Money Is Actually Worth  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Feb 3, 2016 7:33 PM CUT  HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, Daniel Radcliffe, 2001 HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, Daniel Radcliffe, 2001Warner Bros.  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Feb 3, 2016 7:33 PM CUT Shortly after Hagrid informs Harry that [he’s a wizard](http://time.com/4198172/jk-rowling-pottermore-hogwarts-sorting-quiz-back/ "undefined") in _Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone_, the loveable half-giant drops another truth bomb on him: money matters in the [wizarding world,](http://time.com/4180663/alan-rickman-goodbye-to-harry-potter/ "undefined") too. However, as the young hero finds out upon his first trip to Gringotts, cash flow will never be an issue for him. Thanks to a tidy [inheritance](http://time.com/4110623/j-k-rowlings-biggest-harry-potter-revelations/ "undefined") left behind by his parents, Harry is rolling in it. But exactly how rich is the chosen one? Luckily, Reddit user [aubieismyhomie](https://www.reddit.com/r/harrypotter/comments/43qv9c/lets%5Ftalk%5Fwizard%5Fmoney%5Fa%5Flook%5Fthrough%5Feverything/ "undefined") recently set out to give fans a better understanding of how far these funds would actually go. By sifting through the books to find every reference to what things cost and then comparing those numbers to prices of similar objects in real life, the diligent Redditor was able to calculate the value of wizard money in the muggle world. [According to the post](https://www.reddit.com/r/harrypotter/comments/43qv9c/lets%5Ftalk%5Fwizard%5Fmoney%5Fa%5Flook%5Fthrough%5Feverything/ "undefined"), one gold galleon equals $25, one silver sickle equals $1.50 and one bronze knut equals $.05. “Based on this, a Butterbeer from the Hog’s Head would be about $3 (as would hot chocolate on the Knight Bus), Harry bought about $18 of candy on the Hogwarts Express in his first year, and a high-level textbook costs about $175 (which Harry complained about how expensive it was),” aubieismyhomie wrote. The user then delves in to how expensive some of the magical items in the series are, explaining that Harry’s wand cost approximately $175, which is really not a bad deal for something that is supposed to be a lifelong investment. **Read More:** [J.K. Rowling Reveals All 11 Wizarding Schools in the _Harry Potter_ Universe](http://time.com/4201193/jk-rowling-harry-potter-hogwarts-wizarding-schools/ "undefined") However, there is one major problem with this theory. As several Redditors quickly pointed out, [J.K. Rowling](http://time.com/4180485/alan-rickman-death-jk-rowling-tweet/ "undefined") herself has [already spoken](http://web.archive.org/web/20091023035038/http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2001/0301-comicrelief-staff.htm "undefined") on this issue. During a live chat in 2001, the author revealed that one galleon is equal to around five British pounds, which is about $7, using the exchange rate at the time. Either way, one conclusion remains the same: Harry was loaded. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4206380/harry-potter-wizarding-money-worth/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4206380/harry-potter-wizarding-money-worth/"},"headline":"Someone Finally Figured Out How Much Harry Potter Wizarding Money Is Actually Worth","datePublished":"2016-02-03T19:33:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:29:39.486Z","description":"So now you know how much to grab whenever you break into Gringotts","url":"https://time.com/4206380/harry-potter-wizarding-money-worth/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Money","Books","Harry Potter","J.K. Rowling"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb4711a1a0ed8266/698784b655a859b7a4a866b3/harry-potter-owl1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb4711a1a0ed8266/698784b655a859b7a4a866b3/harry-potter-owl1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"MSDHAPO EC007","caption":"MSDHAPO EC007","creditText":"Warner Bros.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4206380/harry-potter-wizarding-money-worth/","name":"Someone Finally Figured Out How Much Harry Potter Wizarding Money Is Actually Worth"}}]}] ```