Wizarding Dosh!!

[Tinkerbell]

Has anyone ever wondered how Lily and James managed to accummulate so much gold in their vault at Gringotts?

I guess that when they died they were aged mid-twenties to early thirties - and assume they were working as Aurors - so how much were they paid and how come they have managed to leave Harry such a large inheritance??

Assistance from the more monetary minded amongst MP'ers would be welcome!

[Tonks]

Well, I would assume that since the Aurors are seen as rather elitist members of the wizarding world, they would be highly paid, especially considering what they do for a job! They have to be highly skilled and trusted and have the courage to constantly work against Lord Voldemort (or at least did at the time before his downfall from power... well, and now that he's back).

I would think that when they were such on demand, a high payraise in the Auror field may have been seen. There are an immense number of risks present.

Also, I believe it has been mentioned that James' parents may have left him a rather large inheritance. It's also relatively plausible that Lily's parents left her an inheritance as well (They were proud of having a witch in the family, remember!). JKR has said that all of Harry's grandparents are dead.

[MissWhizbee]

I have often wondered why they had so much money...Wizard Life Insurance?

Actually on another of your points, I never really thought of Lily and James as Aurors necessarily. I think one or both of them could have been but there doesn't seem to be anything that really points us directly at that conclusion. They were in the order and fighting against V but that doesn't neccessarily mean they were Aurors. There are lots of folks in the order who aren't aurors, although granted there is large percentage who are. If they weren't aurors, I wonder what they did do for a living...

[Nagini]

I did once try to work out the age of Lily and James and put them in their early twenties when they died. Which isn't a long time to accumulate so much money considering, that if they were indeed Aurors it takes years of training and they probably will have only recently qualified. That is indeed if both of them were Aurors.

It is likely that some of the gold was from James' parents or indeed Lily's parents and they left them an inheritance which means either both or at least one set of Harry's grandparents are dead.

Unless they were being paid off by someone to keep their mouths shut about something? Sorry, I have been reading a Crime novel recently :o

[Jenelle]

I dont remember which book it is but in one of them is says that the money that the Harry got from his parents is all family money that has been passed down. Although I'm sure his parents also had their life savings there also being that Gringots is the only wizarding bank in England I do believe.

[Rooster]

Yeah - It seems like the Harry comes from a long line of wizards. Even if it isn't mentioned where the money comes from in the book we have seen that most of the big pure-blooded families have all been very wealthy. I would assume naturally it is just something that gets passed down from generation to generation and added to as time passes by.

[Boing]

I think it is most likely inherited money. Also, it might have been interesting if there had been a fund set up for him and wizards donated all sorts of money to help him out when he came of wizarding age or something . . .

[Jenelle]

Or if they had something like life insurance for wizards, perhaps they do?!

[Angel]

The money probably also had 10 years of interst on it - as it hadnt been touched - they might have high interest rates!! - sorry to sound like a bank manager!!

and life and home insurance... but then again couldnt house n immeterial objects be magically repaired?

[Alz]

OK, my understanding from seeing a few timelines is that Lily and James were about 20 when Harry was born - making their deaths around 21-22 years old.
As such - I dont think they earned the money.
I think the dosh came from inheritance from James's side of the family - the Evan's didnt seem to be that rich and considering the money is in Gringotts - and also in Wizard currency - well I think this is a Potter legacy from James's family ...