Well, rabbits are'nt unheard of too, so maybe the Pope is a rabbit?

Once again, South Park has already done it, but I think it still shows that you use the logic of a 4 year old, and that this discussion is almost baseless.

Anyway, comparing Voldemort and Osama is laughable. Seriously, think about it. A few important differences:

a. Voldemort could almost kill everyone he wanted at that point, especially politicians and government workers [had to leave home].
b. The US government actually has money to offer. Most of the magical world money would be, I assume, in the purebloods pockets. Even if they don't support him, few would donate.
c. Osama was involved in the deaths of tens of thousands. Voldemort, with all respect, (...) has been involved in almost certianly no more than a thousand (wizards, the government wouldn't care about muggles), though probably much less.
d. the magical government seems to be much more incompetent than the real world.

 

Well maybe the pope is a rabbit if he happens to be small,cuddly, and likes carrots.

If a bounty is used to hunt for fugitive A there's a reasonable chance it will be used to hunt for fugitive B.

A. All the more reason to get him quickly.

B. You base this assumption on what the solid gold statues in the ministry building (they have money to spare).Purebloods don't need to donate any money it's called taxes, unless your claiming they don't exist either.

C. Maybe but since the magical world is small a thousand to them might very well be the same as a million to us.

D. Well you got me there.

 

To one of your points:

b) Where did it state in the books that the HP world had taxes?

 

The problem with fanon making Harry rich is the tendency to maike him a billionare. The Weasleys couldn't afford 10 galleons for a new wand. A hundred galleons is probably a lot of money.

 

250K pounds is rich?

 

A. Show me a bureaucrat who'll risk his life for something as small as this.
B. Gold doesn't worth much as much as it is in real life. It's the currency, after all.
C. Big or small, it doesn't matter, it's all about percentage. Most of the money is of the purebloods, most purebloods, don't support this move, no money.

I'd consider it wealthy.

 

As most other things BioPlague, it's relative.

And kjp, you can not assume a trend out of one single occurence. And particularly not when the two governments that you use in your trendsetting are in reality two different ones.

 

How do you suppose the ministry paid it's employees? Gold falling from the sky maybe?

I'm not going to convince anyone am I. I'm just saying a bounty seems completely logical, does anyone doubt that?

wither they did the logical thing is admittedly up for interpretation.

 

http://fc05.devianta******/fs30/f/2008/167/a/0/Dirty_Harry_Potter_by_ssnapey22.jpg

 

Okay, maybe Harry got reward money from the first war, but I think it's likely he didn't get any from the second. The Ministry denied Voldy's existence, and then they offered a bounty for Harry's death. Maybe Harry got a small reward later in life, but as the Ministry does need to pay their employees and fund government programs, it wasn't enough to make him filthy rich.

I don't think the Fidelius (?) Charm was commonly used. I think it might have been one of those spells that a lot of people know of, but don't use. I base this off of how whenever people heard Sirius was the Secret Keeper and he betrayed the Potters, everyone (all the adults) automatically understood what they were talking about. However, the spell requires a great deal of trust, and a lot of people don't have that - especially when it comes to illegal materials or large amounts of money.

 

There is no mention of a reward in the article about the Azkaban breakout in OotP.

 

I still don't think it would've been enough for Harry to be declared filthy rich.

Either way, who says Harry would've accepted it? He's a bloody noble Gryffindor; he'd either refuse it or give it to charity.

 

@Oz:

George calls it a loan, though, which implies that it will be payed back. In fact, a loan would typically be paid back with interest on top of it, and as it is a start-up loan (basically VC funding) Harry should be getting a hefty percentage of the profits.

 

Him getting a return on his loan (which I don't think is going to happen, by the way. Even if it occurred to Harry to charge interest, he wouldn't. If he even accepted an attempt by George to pay him back at all) doesn't make him a partner.

 

Though the evidence of a "start up loan" proves that at least the idea of loans exist in wizarding Britain. Which means gringotts probably is a real bank after all and not some giant safe run by goblins.
And as far as wizarding companies there are plenty outside of the shops that you see. The daily prophet for example, I highly doubt that just one rich wizard or witch pays an entire staff and for the distribution of the paper. And what about massed produced books, each with multiple editions sold to thousands of students. I doubt that the wizarding economy is as stagnant as some of you believe it to be

EDIT
Then again anything can happen with an economy run with magic

 

He gave him money and shook hands, he didn't invest in them and sign a contract.

Not really... if it was so, why didn't they take a loan from the bank instead of gambling their savings on a long shot.

Why not? Malfoy wasn't said to be the richest in the magical world, it's entirely possible.

That's arguable... anyway, who said it was stagnant?

 

I recall in the fifth book that a relative of Sirius bought his Order of Merlin.