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Harry Potter's title character comes from a long line of wizards, although that was unknown to him for the first part of his life. He was raised by his muggle aunt and uncle, who kept his true identity a secret. However, they likely would have been kinder to the boy wizard had they known he had access to a sizable fortune. But how did Harry Potter get so rich?
The Potters are an old wizarding family that can trace its roots to the Peverell brothers, who created the Deathly Hallows. Being descendants of the third brother, Ignotus, comes with a greater sense of duty to the next generation. Plus, Ignotus carried the invisibility cloak and handed it down to his son. This family has a tradition of sharing treasures and gifts, likely including their material wealth.
The Potter Family Had Multiple Sources of Wealth
The Potters had centuries to accumulate wealth and also a sense of responsibility to pass it down. That's in contrast to other wizarding families with similar histories who did not maintain their wealth. The Gaunt family, for example, squandered their familial wealth over the years, despite also descending from the Peverells. Harry's inheritance, on the other hand, was appropriately managed by his parents, and James Potter's parents before him.
James and Lily Potter both understood the danger they were in during Voldemort's first reign of terror. Preparing for baby Harry's future in the event of their untimely passing must have been one of their top priorities, considering the accumulated wealth in the vault at Gringotts.
Harry Potter's Grandfather Made a Fortune From Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion
The Potters also had another source of wealth more recent than ancient family inheritance. James Potter's parents, Fleamont and Euphemia, managed aline of hair care products invented by Fleamont called Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and Scalp Treatment, which Hermione used to transform her usually bushy hair into a sleek knot for the Yule Ball
There isn't a lot of information about Fleamont and Euphemia other than they had one child but welcomed Sirius Black into their home when he ran away from his own family. In the novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, they also appear in the Mirror of Erised when Harry stumbles upon it while under the invisibility cloak. Tragically, Harry never met his grandparents, as they died before he was born. However, before their death, they sold their company for a sizable profit, which helped to fill Harry's vault in Gringotts.
When Harry first realizes he is not as poor in the Wizarding World as he is in the muggle world, he doesn't question where it all came from. He's simply so blown away to have any money at all. Despite all that inheritance, it doesn't help to give him a loving home for his formative years, and it's obvious that he'd rather have his family alive and well than a Gringotts fortune.