How Emma Watson spends her Harry Potter millions: with a net worth of US$85 million, a taste for luxury jewellery and a role as director of Kering, her purchases are surprisingly modest

Dec 8 , 2021

Emma Watson played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series – and made millions in the process. Photo: @emawaatson/Instagram

Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint will reunite in HBO Max’s Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts – and they’re all millionaires like creator J.K. Rowling

Watson bought a Cadillac and an Audi to go with her Prius and is on the board of Kering, which runs fashion houses Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen

After 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth in the film series, English actress Emma Watson acknowledged that she was already set for life. Today, she has a whopping net worth of around US$85 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. But she was also once mostly clueless about how much she was making during those years on the Harry Potter films.

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Watson was only 11 when she was scouted to play Hermione Granger in the first film based on the books by J.K. Rowling. In an interview with British Vogue, the actress shared that it was only when she turned 18 that her father had a “money talk with her”, which left her surprised – shocked, even – to discover how much she had made. “I had no idea. I felt sick and very emotional,” she told the magazine. In response to finding out that she’d been a millionaire all along, Watson took a course at Coutts bank to learn more about how to manage her money.

Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson arrive at the premiere of the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in New York, in July 2011. Photo: Reuters

Watson’s fame and fortune is largely built on the Harry Potter series, and the actress has recently been in the headlines again with the upcoming reunion project by HBO Max, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, expected to premiere on New Year’s Day, 2022.

Below, we take a look at how Watson, although rich and famous, has commendable spending habits that are remarkably modest for such a celebrity.

Her first “major” purchases

Emma Watson. Photo: @emmawatson/Instagram

Watson’s first purchases with her Harry Potter pay cheques were modest: a laptop, a car – a humble Toyota Prius costing about US$30,000 – and a holiday with her dad. Speaking to Interview in 2009, the actress said: “I love the Prius, even if my friends say it’s ugly. They say I drive a brick. And, to be fair, it’s not the prettiest car on the road, but it’s good for the environment. It’s sensible and boring – like me.”

As for her Italian trip with her father, Watson thought he could use a break as “he works so hard”.

Today, Emma Watson can afford to jet off anywhere she wants. Photo: @emmawatson/Instagram