Family Wealth

[300 H&H Magnum]

I would rank the families of Westeros in terms of wealth this way

1. Lannister
2. Hightower
3. Tyrell
4. Redwyne
5. Frey

*Baelish is very rich but in my opinion, he is not as wealthy as the above families.  I would say Baelish is not even in the top ten.

[Curled Finger]

Are the Hightowers more wealthy than the Tyrells?  I thought The Starks were quite wealthy, but perhaps it's regionally comparative.   The Arryns are ancient.   Aren't they featured on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous of Westeros?

I'm thinking frickin Little Finger has all the wealth of the Riverlands--certainly they pay taxes to him, as well as that of the Vale on top of all the money he stole from Kings Landing and the Lannisters not to mention his investments. 

I was under the impression that the Wardens were the richest people in their regions.    

[Ser Snowflake]

I agree with your top three. The Lannisters are definitely number one and I seem to remember reading that the Hightowers were number 2. With bannermen like the Hightowers and Redwynes, I assume that the Tyrells take the third spot.

However I'm not sure that House Redwyne and House Frey are richer than some of the Lord Paramounts, who collect taxes from their respective regions or some of the houses that oversee the great cities of Westeros. Are we to believe that House Frey and Redwyne are richer than the Manderlys, Graftons, Martells, Stark, Arryn, Tullly, and Baratheons? I assume that the Greyjoys aren't as rich as other houses due to the fact that Iron Islands lack of gold, silver, and farmable land. It's no wonder that they have to resort to reaving.

[Curled Finger]

I think those Tarlys are pretty well off too.   Sorry post above got me thinking about the houses I don't always consider rich and famous.   Manderlys are the wealthiest family in the North.  However, on the Iron Islands I think the Harlaws are the wealthiest.   I know there is a Riverlands family I'm forgetting...

[Graydon Hicks]

well, i the lannisters, at least until recently, were the wealthiest, but now they are writing checks they cant cash, since the mines dried up.

after them, i would say house tyrell, though that might be closely contested by the hightowers. the reach is just as wealthy as the westerlnds, but it comes from the taxation on the large population, and on the trade in and out of old town.

the freys are wealthy, but how wealthy? the control the only bridge on the green fork north of the trident, and they demand some heavy tolls for crossings. so the have built up s nest egg, but i doubt its on the level of the lannisters or tyrells.

littlefinger is likely the single weatlhiest man in westeros, after tywin. but it might not be on the same level as house wealth, just personal.

19 minutes ago, Curled Finger said:

I was under the impression that the Wardens were the richest people in their regions.    

the wardens are the main military commanders for the realm, in each quarter of the continent. it has nothing to do with wealth, more with military ability.

[Lord Wraith]

44 minutes ago, Graydon Hicks said:

well, i the lannisters, at least until recently, were the wealthiest, but now they are writing checks they cant cash, since the mines dried up.

after them, i would say house tyrell, though that might be closely contested by the hightowers. the reach is just as wealthy as the westerlnds, but it comes from the taxation on the large population, and on the trade in and out of old town.

the freys are wealthy, but how wealthy? the control the only bridge on the green fork north of the trident, and they demand some heavy tolls for crossings. so the have built up s nest egg, but i doubt its on the level of the lannisters or tyrells.

littlefinger is likely the single weatlhiest man in westeros, after tywin. but it might not be on the same level as house wealth, just personal.

the wardens are the main military commanders for the realm, in each quarter of the continent. it has nothing to do with wealth, more with military ability.

The mines drying up is a show only invention, not a book one.

I don't think the Frey's are that wealthy, certainly not as much as some of the LP's.

[Tai Pan]

It is possible for a bannerman lord to have more wealth than his lord paramount.  He only pays a portion of what he earns and smart guys play with their accounting figures.  That's the reason why the Tullys resent the Freys.  Walder has more money than Hoster and that must have irked the Tullys.

[The Knight of Flours]

The Freys don't deserve to be on that list.  They would be below Manderleys, Tullys and other LPs and probably many more including House Baelish who would have presumably received taxes from the Freys and other Riverlands lords over the past year or so..

We don't hear that they have any rich resources and tolls for crossing the bridge are likely to be minimal. 

And children cost a lot..

[Lord Vance II]

I can't see the Frey's in the top 5. I always thought it seemed like they were doing real well for their status but not necessarily ballin. When Tytos Lannister wanted to marry his daughter to Emmon Frey, Tywin spoke up saying it wasn't a worthy match. If the Freys were a top 5 wealthiest family, I don't think he would have been so opposed. Plus I've never gotten the impression the Twins is particularly nice or well appointed.

Manderly is definitely richer than Frey, for one. 

[Ferocious Veldt Roarer]

8 hours ago, Curled Finger said:

Are the Hightowers more wealthy than the Tyrells?  I thought The Starks were quite wealthy, but perhaps it's regionally comparative.   The Arryns are ancient.   Aren't they featured on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous of Westeros?

I'm thinking frickin Little Finger has all the wealth of the Riverlands--certainly they pay taxes to him,

Certainly?

Have they paid him a single coin so far? Because I for one don't recall. With the Riverlands war-torn until very recently, where even the allies of House Lannister treat their nominal LP with disdain, and Littlefinger never busying himself to actually visit his nominal fiefdom.

8 hours ago, Curled Finger said:

as well as that of the Vale

Same question: do you recall him collecting any taxes from the Vale?

[devilish]

House Spicer might be among the top 5. Spice merchants tend to be very rich and they just got their hands on Castamere. 

[The Commentator]

I can see the Freys having more money than the Manderlys.  Everybody has to pay a toll to cross the bridge and that means a lot of money coming in to the Frey coffers.   Not only merchants but travelers needing to cross will have to pay.  

[Stormking902]

48 minutes ago, Widowmaker 811 said:

I can see the Freys having more money than the Manderlys.  Everybody has to pay a toll to cross the bridge and that means a lot of money coming in to the Frey coffers.   Not only merchants but travelers needing to cross will have to pay.  

Wrong the Manderlys are far richer then the Freys since they control White Harbour which is a city, also they have trade ships they use to trade with the rest of Westeros and Essos so were talking big money. The Freys control a bridge that is only used when trading with the North or the North trading with the RL..... If the North was trading any where else in Westeros they would just use White Harbours fleet to do so and cut costs and time. The Freys are rich but still behind the Tullys and every other LP even house Greyjoy are probably richer then the Freys by a hair. 

 

[Lord Vance II]

1 hour ago, Widowmaker 811 said:

I can see the Freys having more money than the Manderlys.

Manderly has a mint. If at some point you needed to build your own mint, I think it's safe to say you're seeing a ton of cash flow. No other house is said to have one (though I think it's safe to say the Lannisters have one, and that's good company in this sense). It also shows it's a lot of "new money," the Mermen haven't been in the North for long (comparatively) and always been vassels of the Starks, so it's not like it dates from noble times. 

 

[The Commentator]

29 minutes ago, Stormking902 said:

Wrong the Manderlys are far richer then the Freys since they control White Harbour which is a city, also they have trade ships they use to trade with the rest of Westeros and Essos so were talking big money. The Freys control a bridge that is only used when trading with the North or the North trading with the RL..... If the North was trading any where else in Westeros they would just use White Harbours fleet to do so and cut costs and time. The Freys are rich but still behind the Tullys and every other LP even house Greyjoy are probably richer then the Freys by a hair. 

 

I don't think so.  White Harbor is dependent on goods coming to port.  The Twins collect their toll from everyone who crosses that bridge (not just trade merchants) and have never failed to do so.  The North is relatively poor and that makes the Manderlys richer than the other northern lords.  It doesn't mean that they are richer than the Freys, who are one of the richest families in whole kingdom.  

[Stormking902]

1 hour ago, Widowmaker 811 said:

I don't think so.  White Harbor is dependent on goods coming to port.  The Twins collect their toll from everyone who crosses that bridge (not just trade merchants) and have never failed to do so.  The North is relatively poor and that makes the Manderlys richer than the other northern lords.  It doesn't mean that they are richer than the Freys, who are one of the richest families in whole kingdom.  

Where is some text claiming the Freys are even top 20 in terms of wealth???  

The Frey are not richer then the Manderlys or the Starks for that matter, the Freys do not have enough traffic useing the bridge they built to be extremly wealthy, also house Frey is HUGE could you imagine the cost of feeding all of your family anually?? Can you imagin the cost of Armour and weapons for all male kin?? Can you imagine the Dowrys spent on Walders numerous mariage arrangments? Up keep of the twins and paying taxs to Riverrunn.......... Trust me house Frey are not as rich as you believe they are.  

[Deepbollywood Motte]

4 hours ago, Widowmaker 811 said:

I don't think so.  White Harbor is dependent on goods coming to port.  The Twins collect their toll from everyone who crosses that bridge (not just trade merchants) and have never failed to do so.  The North is relatively poor and that makes the Manderlys richer than the other northern lords.  It doesn't mean that they are richer than the Freys, who are one of the richest families in whole kingdom.  

How much toll do you think they ask? It's probably not like that every farmer who wants to see his brother on the other side has to pay a golden dragon to cross... A merchant ship full of cargo on the other hand would bring in a hell of a lot of tariffs and other taxes. Yes a lot of people cross the bridge but I don't think this overall income is higher than owning a city, a harbour and probably a hell of a lot more of land that the Manderlys own (I don't know how much land the Freys and the Manderlys control but the Manderlys very likely control a couple of times more than the Freys).

[Bernie Mac]

5 hours ago, Lord Vance II said:

Manderly has a mint. 

 

The Manderly's don't have a mint. When Wyman is asking money from the Starks to build a Navy he also suggests that he be given to take charge of the matter.

 

5 hours ago, Stormking902 said:

Wrong the Manderlys are far richer then the Freys 

There is no evidence here or there to prove this one way or the other. The fact that the Freys can go to White Harbor and use their wealth to bribe Manderly's own people shows that the Manderly's can not be significantly richer than them (if they are at all). 

We know that the Manderly's are the richest Lords in the North and that the Freys are the most powerful Lords in the Riverlands. It is also a fair bet that they are amongst the richest, if not the richest, in the Riverlands. 

 

3 hours ago, Stormking902 said:

Where is some text claiming the Freys are even top 20 in terms of wealth???  

They are frequently called rich. When the daughter of one Lord Paramount and the wife of another calls them rich then it is a good bet that they are so. In the appendix GRRM descibes them as "Powerful, wealthy, and numerous, the Freys are bannermen to House Tully," In the Dunk & Egg books they are described as rich and even in the World book: "But as their wealth and influence grew, so did the Crossing. And soon the castle grew from a single tower that overlooked the bridge to two formidable towers that bracketed the river between them. These two keeps, now called the Twins, are amongst the strongest in the realm."

 

The World book comparing the wealth and influence to their castle, which is amongst the strongest should in the realm should be evidence enough. As should GRRM's appendix, but even without that look at their military strength. We have not seen another Northern or Riverland House raise the number of soldiers they have in the books. The evidence is there in the books. 

 

They are undoubtedly a wealthy family. I don't know if they are in the top 5 like OP suggests but they should easily be in the top 20 given that the Riverlands is one of the three richest realms in Westeros and they the most powerful and like wealthiest in their region. 

3 hours ago, Stormking902 said:

the Freys do not have enough traffic useing the bridge they built to be extremly wealthy,

They must do, otherwise it would not be mentioned. And of course their lands are huge. The have lands on both sides of both the Green and Blue fork. That is a pretty large amount of land to draw taxes from. I have a theory that the the bridge allows them a steady income in the Winter, while other Houses, possibly the nearby Charltons who were once a significant House, have lost money and may have been forced to part with land to the cash ready Freys.

3 hours ago, Stormking902 said:

 

also house Frey is HUGE could you imagine the cost of feeding all of your family anually?? Can you imagin the cost of Armour and weapons for all male kin??

It is a drop in the ocean. Walder has a 1,000 knights on retainer. Feeding his family is not a problem. 

3 hours ago, Stormking902 said:

Can you imagine the Dowrys spent on Walders numerous mariage arrangments? 

Which he happily pays. He willingly makes Roose a very rich man. Money does not seem to be an issue for the Freys

 

11 hours ago, Lord Vance II said:

I can't see the Frey's in the top 5. I always thought it seemed like they were doing real well for their status but not necessarily ballin. When Tytos Lannister wanted to marry his daughter to Emmon Frey, Tywin spoke up saying it wasn't a worthy match.

It wasnt. Emmon was the second son from a Lord from another realm. Genna, as the only daughter of the Lord of the Westerlands, should have her pick of actual Lords or heirs to marry. 

Plus Westeros nobility don't put the dame value in wealth that we may do. It is more about prestige and being 'only' 600 years old seems to be enough that some Houses look down on the Freys. 

[Deepbollywood Motte]

30 minutes ago, Bernie Mac said:

It wasnt. Emmon was the second son from a Lord from another realm. Genna, as the only daughter of the Lord of the Westerlands, should have her pick of actual Lords or heirs to marry

wasn't this mostly put in the story to show how much of a push-over Tytos Lannister was?

[The Lord of the Crossing]

20 hours ago, Lord Wraith said:

The mines drying up is a show only invention, not a book one.

I don't think the Frey's are that wealthy, certainly not as much as some of the LP's.

The Freys are more likely richer than the poorer/less affluent LPs like the Starks, Greyjoys, Martells.  They are very wealthy and I think they even exceed the wealth of the likes of the Baratheons and perhaps the Arryns.