Harry Potter’s child stars were catapulted into worldwide fame and riches beyond their wildest dreams – but some remained relatively frugal while one spiralled into terrifying debt

Harry Potter trio Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were 11, 10 and 12 respectively when they won the roles that would change their lives forever.

On New Year’s Day, the cast will reunite for a special which will air on Sky Max and NOW.

The legendary actors are all finally back together and can be seen in the spine-tingling trailer.

And their casting as Harry and his best pals Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley couldn’t have been more perfect, as proved early on in their careers during a press conference.

The kids were asked what they were going to spend their money on, and they answered exactly how their characters would.

First came Emma, who meekly replied: “I’m afraid I’m really going to bore you all, but I’m going to stick it in a bank until I’m 21.”

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint had no clue how to spend their money at first ( 
Image:
AFP)

Daniel shrugged when asked if he was going to save his money, replying: “Probably.”

He added: “Um, I… No, I don’t have any idea.”

Hilariously, joker Rupert then replied: “Well, speaking as a wizard, we’re going to get paid muggle money and I don’t really understand it.”

Rupert Grint – £37million

Rupert Grint purchased an ice-cream van
Despite his cheeky answer, Rupert did actually have something in mind – a dream he was able to fulfil once the money started rolling in.

He purchased an ice-cream van, because it was his dream professional when he was younger.

However, he didn’t actually stock it, leading to some kids being very disappointed.

“Not long after I first got it, I pulled into a pub to do a U-turn and there were eight kids with their pocket money out, hoping to buy a 99 or whatever. But I had nothing to give them. I’ve learnt my lesson since then,” he told the Daily Mail in 2014.

“I keep my van well stocked. It’s got a proper machine that dispenses Mr Whippy ice cream and I buy my lollies wholesale – 50 for a tenner – so I never run short. I’m not allowed to sell my merchandise. I’d need a licence for that.

Rupert was 12 when he was cast as Ron ( 
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Unknown)

“‘I tend to avoid July and August, but the rest of the year, I’ll drive around the local villages and if I see some kids looking like they’re in need of ice creams, I’ll pull over and dish them out for free,” he added.

“They’ll say, ‘Ain’t you Ron Weasley?’ And I’ll say, ‘It’s strange, I get asked that a lot.'”

Another of Rupert’s lavish purchases was a hovercraft – but it turned out to be very tricky to ride.

“You can’t really – a tree a mile away you’re probably going to hit it,” he admitted on the Armchair Podcast.

“It’s lethal. It nearly killed me.”

He added: “I don’t think it ever really dawned on me when I got the part that [making a lot of money] was going to be a big part of it.

“But it gradually became too much, too young. I just didn’t know what to do with it. It was quite overwhelming.”

He also splurged on a restored VW Camper van, an orange Range Rover and a Ferrari Testarossa, which translates to ‘red-head’ in Italian.

When he moved out from his parents’ house, Rupert bought a farmhouse with a lake, a herd of pigs and a putting green, as well as another £500,000 countryside home with his father Nigel, a former racing car driver.

His newest £5million country mansion in Hertfordshire is an 18th-century build with five reception rooms, six bedroom suites, indoor and outdoor swimming pools as well as two cottages in the 22-acre grounds.

Daniel Radcliffe – £84million

Daniel has got more money than he could probably ever spend – but he’s not really trying, either.

The actor has admitted he’s terrible at splashing the cash.

“I don’t do a huge amount with my money,” he told James O’Brien’s podcast Full Disclosure.

“I’m not particularly extravagant. There are moments where I think, Man, I’m really bad at being famous.'”

He also previously told the Belfast Telegraph he wanted to be careful with his money so that he could have more freedom when it came to the acting roles he took on later in life.

“I’m very grateful for it, because having money means you don’t have to worry about it, which is a very lovely freedom to have,” he said in the 2016 interview.

“It also gives me immense freedom, career-wise… For all the people who’ve followed my career, I want to give them something to be interested in, rather than them just watch me make loads of money on crap films for the rest of my life.”

The Harry Potter actor is the most minted of the kids on set
He drives a VW Golf, having deliberately opted for this instead of something more expensive like a Ferrari.

That said, David has made one eye-watering purchase – he spent £12,500 on a custom-made Saviour mattress when he was 22.

He owns two apartments in New York that both cost £3million each, and he recently snapped up a five bedroom townhouse in the city too.

In leafy West London he also owns a plush flat, and he’s building up an impressive modern art collection.

“The only thing I’m likely to spend on is art, as that’s the only thing I’m interested in that costs a lot of money,” he revealed.

In fact, he reportedly spent £1.48 million on a Kaleidoscope painting created by Damien Hirst.

When it comes to charity, Daniel digs deep into his pockets, too. He made a generous donation to LGBTQ youth charity The Trevor Project in 2020.

Emma Watson – £62million

Emma Watson had no idea how wealthy she was until she turned 18 ( Image: Getty)
Emma has also been incredibly generous when it comes to spending her hard-earned dosh.

In 2018, she gave £1million to the Justice and Equality Fund, an organisation that works against sexual harassment and assaults in the UK.

The star has also tirelessly campaigned for women’s rights and was appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014.

She revealed once that her father never told her how much she was earning from the films, and she lived on an allowance of £50 a week until she was 18.

“When I was 18 my father sat me down for a money conversation,” she explained.

The Hermione Granger actress took a course in how to manage her money
“By the fourth film the money was starting to get serious. I had no idea. I felt sick, very emotional.”

Emma was so concerned about how to deal with her eye-popping cash flow, she enrolled in a course with the Queen’s banker Coutts to teach her about managing money.

She continued: “Clothes are probably my biggest expenditure and make-up. But I really don’t have time to spend my money.

“Sometimes my bank manager calls to say, ‘You haven’t used your card in a while and now you’re using it. No one’s stolen it, have they?'”

But Emma also owns a £3million house in North London and a stunning ski chalet in France which cost £700,000 – purchased to celebrate her straight A-grades in her exams.

Tom Felton – £14million

Draco Malfoy was played by Tom Felton ( 
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Tom admitted he got into financial trouble when he first started earning ( 
Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images for Ned)
Tom, who played Draco Malfoy, actually ended up running into financial trouble despite his enormous wealth.

According to the Express, he revealed to the Daily Mail in 2010 that he “wasted” the cash on luxury cars, mostly BMWs, despite his mother’s warnings that he would lose money on them.

“There was a scary two years where it was madness because I was really in trouble with the taxman. I had been working for eight years and all I had to show for it was this horrible debt,” he admitted.

“At one point we had the bailiff at the door.”

Thankfully, Tom said he “managed to get out of the situation” but confessed it was a result of him “burying his head in the sand”.

“I’ve spent the past year and a half with an accountant, trying to understand VAT, DVD residuals and things like that,” he said.

“I’ve had to really grow up.”

The legendary actors are all finally back together and can be seen in the spine-tingling trailer.

And their casting as Harry and his best pals Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley couldn’t have been more perfect, as proved early on in their careers during a press conference.

The kids were asked what they were going to spend their money on, and they answered exactly how their characters would.

First came Emma, who meekly replied: “I’m afraid I’m really going to bore you all, but I’m going to stick it in a bank until I’m 21.”

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint had no clue how to spend their money at first ( 
Image:
AFP)