Throughout J.K. Rowling's beloved wizarding series, Harry Potter's wealth is no secret.
In the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcere's Stone," Hagrid takes Potter to visit his vault at wizarding bank Gringotts, for the first time.
Inside, Potter is stunned to find a seemingly endless trove of bronze knuts, silver sickles, and gold galleons, the currency of the wizarding world.
For years, fans have wondered how the Potter family came to be so rich, especially given that Harry's parents, Lily and James, were only 21 when they were murdered by Lord Voldemort.
"How did Harry inherit so much money when his parents will have only worked 2 years tops at an ok wage," one reddit user asked. "They also had a house, which would've set them back a lot."
On Tuesday, author J.K. Rowling finally revealed the source of the Potter income in a new entry on fan site Pottermore.
According to Rowling, the first member of the Potter family was a 12th century man a named Linfred of Stinchcombe.
"Linfred was a vague and absent-minded fellow whose Muggle neighbours often called upon his medicinal services," Rowling explained.
It was these "medicinal services," including "Skele-gro" and "Pepper Potion," that were the beginnings of the Potter family fortune.
You might remember Skele-gro from the second book, where Madame Pomfrey treats Harry with it to re-grow his arm bones after a quidditch match.
Linfred turned a nice profit selling his treatments and when he died, left a "significant pile of gold" to each of his seven kids.
Over the next several decades, members of the Potter family worked diligently to maintain the family's wealth, Rowling explained.
Fast forward to the 20th century, where Fleamont Potter, a distant descendant of Linfred of Stinchcombe, "took the family gold and quadrupled it."
Like Linfred of Stinchcombe, Fleamont also had a knack for creating potions. He was the creator of Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion, a beauty product which would later become a favorite of witches including Hermione Granger. Fleamont "sold the company at a vast profit when he retired," Rowling writes.
Fleamont Potter died of dragon pox and his fortune was left to his son, James Potter. From there, the family fortune was bequeathed to Harry, after James and Lily Potter were killed.
Looks like Harry Potter's kids, Albus Severus and James Sirius, could stand to inherit quite a bit of money from their dad. Though probably not as much as J.K. Rowling's children. In 2014, the author's net worth was a reported $1 billion.
