The 10 Richest Characters On Game Of Thrones, Ranked

In the world of Game of Thrones, the metaphorical and literal fortunes of every house can turn on a dime. To quote Petyr Baelish, “chaos is a ladder”, and sometimes those that climb the highest wind up falling to their own destruction. And most of the major characters in Game of Thrones are born into some kind of wealth, but some of them wind up losing everything they’ve been given while others seem to only increase their prosperity through skill or just pure luck.

The wealthiest and poorest Game of Thrones characters has fluctuated wildly over the course of the series, but many of the characters have managed to reach extraordinary heights of wealth, regardless of whether or not they eventually wound up falling from those great heights. Money clearly comes and goes fast in Game of Thrones, but here are the 10 richest characters in the history of the show, ranked.

10 Sansa Stark

The North may be the largest of all seven kingdoms, and it is actually quite rich in natural resources, however, its size, its relatively low population, and its typically very harsh weather make it very difficult to actually exploit all that the North has to offer. And earlier on in the series, House Stark was probably one of the least wealthy regions in Westeros. So why is Sansa Stark one of the richest characters in Game of Thrones? Well, because taxes are a b*tch, and as the newly crowned Queen of the North and heir to House Stark Sansa is suddenly the proud owner of a pile of money that she doesn’t have to give to anyone else.

9 Robert Baratheon

You’d think that as the actual king of all seven kingdoms Robert Baratheon would warrant a slightly higher slot on this list, but unfortunately, Robert had a habit of spending more money than he made, even though he was given a considerable amount of money over the course of his life.

House Baratheon was never one of the wealthier Great Houses of Westeros, but when Robert became king and more importantly when he married Cersei Lannister he had access to a lot more money. But he still somehow managed to get the crown into massive debt, and it was really Tywin Lannister that kept him afloat.

8 Bronn Of The Blackwater

Bronn may have started his journey on Game of Thrones as nothing more than a simple sellsword, but he managed to make himself into one of the richest people in Westeros with one simple maneuver. Bronn miraculously bargained his way into the seat of the Great House of the Reach, and the Reach is arguably the richest kingdom in all seven kingdoms. Bronn doesn’t have anything else to his name besides the seat at Highgarden, but Highgarden is one of the most valuable lordships in all of Game of Thrones. So long as he doesn’t mess up this opportunity, he will soon be towards the top of this list.

7 Petyr Baelish

Apparently it really pays to be a sneaky manipulator, because Petyr Baelish is yet another Game of Thrones character who started the series with relatively little to his name and ended his run as one of the wealthiest. Petyr’s rise wasn’t quite as meteoric as Bronn’s, but Littlefinger still weaseled his way to the upper echelons of Westerosi society. He was born into a very small lordship, but he ingratiated himself with many of the High Lords in Westeros as well as with the king himself. He eventually won many different titles, and that, in addition to his lucrative brothel business and his position as Master of Coin, made him one of the richest men in GoT.

6 Doran Martell

The entire Martell family were really snakes in the grass, that is until Oberyn Martell decided to strike. And although his older brother Doran made a very brief appearance on Game of Thrones, he was still the leader of one of the richest families in the entire series.

As the Prince of Dorne and eldest brother in the Martell family, Doran controlled most of the wealth in Dorne. Dorne isn’t as rich of a kingdom as many others, but their exotic products earn them quite a pretty penny. And aside from that, the Martells have a considerable amount of inherited wealth going all the way back to their family’s marriage with the Rhoynish Queen Nymeria.

5 Daenerys Targaryen

If there is any lesson to be learned from the characters and their fluctuating fortunes on Game of Thrones, it’s that one right or wrong move can completely change your life. And luckily for Daenerys Targaryen, her one right move managed to take her from a pauper princess to one of the wealthiest characters in Game of Thrones. After Khal Drogo’s death, Dany appeared to have almost nothing, but when she hatched three dragons in Drogo’s funeral pyre she instantly became one of the wealthiest women in the world. And she used those dragons to great effect, acquiring even more wealth as she conquered half of Essos.

4 Mace Tyrell

Lord Mace Tyrell seemed to be a half-wit who did absolutely nothing to earn all of the wealth that he had, but through the luck of being born into the Tyrell family as well as being the son of one of the smartest people in Westeros, Mace ultimately wound up being one of the richest characters in Game of Thrones. As the Lord of Highgarden and the High Lord of the Reach, one of the richest kingdoms in Westeros, Mace was born with more money than nearly everyone else in Game of Thrones, and the renewable resources that the Tyrells had at their disposal were greater than any other house in Weseteros.

3 Joffrey Baratheon

Just like in the real world, in Game of Thrones there are characters who have earned their wealth and others who have simply lucked into it. And Joffrey Baratheon undoubtedly would have lived and died as a broke fool if he hadn’t been born into the Baratheon and Lannister families, but as the king of Westeros he was entitled to the taxes from all seven kingdoms, and as the heir to House Lannister he had access to the wealthiest house in all seven kingdoms.

And surprisingly Joffrey managed to maintain most of his wealth, firstly because no one allowed him to be overly extravagant and secondly because he didn’t survive long enough to blow his fortune.

2 Cersei Lannister

Cersei Lannister is truly only the second wealthiest person in Game of Thrones by chance. House Lannister has long been the wealthiest house in all of Westeros, and since Cersei’s twin brother Jaime was a member of the Kingsguard and her younger brother Tyrion was on the run after murdering their father Cersei inherited the entire Lannister fortune by default. Being the queen of Westeros undoubtedly helped further Cersei’s wealth even more, but she didn’t seem to be a particularly thrifty queen, so it’s hard to say if she wound up spending more than she made or if she made more than she spent.

1 Tywin Lannister

It’s actually hilarious to realize that Tywin Lannister is probably the only character on this list who actually made it there because he had a specific talent for managing money, but that does seem to be the case. Obviously he was born on third base and just had to get himself to home plate, but Tywin managed to take the considerable fortune that belonged to House Lannister and enrich himself and his family even further with his political maneuvering. He was literally born on a gold mine, and his exceptional abilities as a political player ultimately made him the richest man in the series, up until his death at least.