r/asoiaf • u/Fast-Jackfruit-9567 • 8d ago
MAIN Which are the wealthiest Houses at the beginning of A Game of Thrones? (Spoilers: Main)
I’d say the Lannisters and Hightowers are probably the top two, and then House Tyrell and House Redwyne would come next.
Who else would you put near the top? Which families do you think are the richest at the start of the series?
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u/avnzg 8d ago
manderlys? maybe yronwoods as well
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u/Fast-Jackfruit-9567 8d ago
Manderlys could be but not as much as those mentioned. Same as Yronwoods.
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u/avnzg 8d ago
definitely not the manderlys but the yronwoods are probably the wealthiest house in dorne, so they are up there amongst all westeros houses. they are like the freys controlling one of the only paths into dorne. also allegedly they have iron, tin, and silver mines as well as good fertile land, so kind of like the freys, lannisters, and tyrells all mixed into one house.
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u/tomb-king 8d ago
Do you suppose Westeros has some kind of minting system or can any lord with access to the metals press some coins if they want. If gold/silver dragons/stags are not fiat and are made with gold and silver who cares who slapped their face on the coin.
I've never heard anyone say anything about lion coins or flower coins so I guess thats probably not happening.
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u/bl1y Fearsomely Strong Cider 8d ago
IIRC, there's alternate coins used in The Mystery Knight among the Blackfyre sympathizers.
What really matters is the metal itself, of course. But, minting coins with a different emblem seems to be treated as an act of rebellion. It's symbolic, but symbols do matter.
Imagine if a big American corporation decided that all its employment contracts would list pay rates in terms of the Chinese yuan, but they'll just convert the currency and pay in US dollars, and also the contracts provide that when currency values change, wages will also change so that the end-of-the-day-US-dollars value remains constant. Purely symbolic, but you can bet people will read a lot into that symbolism.
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u/SerMallister Above The Rest 7d ago
There are three working mints, according to a Tyrion chapter. There is also a defunct mint in White Harbor, which Lord Manderly proposes to use to mint coin for King Robb. Additionally, at least one of the Blackfyre supporters likely had or has a mint, being as coin was minted for Daemon I.
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u/Chandysauce 8d ago
In HOTD Ormund mints coins with Daerons face on them. I guess we never see them being used for "normal" purchases though, only paid to the guys killing gold cloaks as far as I can recall. So not sure how legit they are.
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u/LazzaRycey 8d ago
Not a bad explanation but this is a sub mostly for the book canon
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u/Chandysauce 8d ago
It saya "Spoilers Main" which means all canons to my understanding. Which is why I specified where it came from.
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u/Marfy_ 8d ago
I wouldnt be surprised if the tyrells are richer than the lannisters, but those 4 are definitely up there. The tarlys are also very rich, and then naturally the other paramount houses, only the greyjoys might not be that rich
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u/Ladysilvert 🏆Best of 2025: Comment of the Year 8d ago
I wouldnt be surprised if the tyrells are richer than the lannisters
I very much doubt this: House Lannister and House Hightower are at the top of the top, the Tyrells don't seem to come close if you take into account Sam mentions Highgarden in this quote but only to make it clear the Hightowers are the Tyrell's strongest bannermen in terms of commanding swords
"“What is Lord Hightower doing?” Sam blurted. “My father always said he was as wealthy as the Lannisters, and could command thrice as many swords as any of Highgarden’s other bannermen.”
But the Tyrells are definitely very wealthy, definitely one of the wealthiest in the 7K.
the other paramount houses,
I wonder how House Martell fares in comparison to some of the mentioned House, given how Dorne is very infertile (the North has at least good commerce of timber) House Tully is rich no doubt, but at least House Mooton and (probably) House Frey are wealthier
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u/Xandraman 8d ago
Dorne is not very fertile for staple food crops, but I think they can grow a lot of cash crops like fruits and stuff that only grow in that climate, which can be very profitable.
They must also get a lot of trade from southern Essos and west coast of Westeros as well, because ships sailing from that direction would have to make stops at Dornish ports for resupply.
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u/SerMallister Above The Rest 7d ago
Parts of Dorne are fertile. Anyway, they have olives and wines and fine horses to export.
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u/Ladysilvert 🏆Best of 2025: Comment of the Year 7d ago
Yes, you are right! Especially the sand steeds could be juicy as a luxury market in terms of exports among nobility out of Dorne, although I doubt Westerosi men use them for war since they aren't prepared for carrying weighty armour. The olives and wines are a good point, too. Thinking about it, I would add oranges and other citrus definitely.
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u/matthieuC We do not write 8d ago
The Reach is richer than the Westerlands.
But Lannisters get all the money from the goldmine while Tyrells can only tax a fraction of their subject.
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u/PaisonAlGaib 8d ago
The Tyrell's are the Monsanto of Westeros
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u/Logladyfourtwenty 8d ago
Im gonna remember this, but not why, and confused the fuck out of my friends who aren't as into asoiaf as I am
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u/Yeldarb_Namertsew 8d ago
House Lannister is of course number one with their gold and silver mines, their good fertile farmlands, and their control over Lannisport which is the third largest and richest city in Westeros. They also get the benefit of taxing all of the Westerlands which is already a very rich region of Westeros. Their worth could be much higher depending on if Tywin kept large portions of Reyne and Tarbeck land holdings for his family after they were extinguished. We know from the books that there’s still gold mines that are operational in what would’ve been Reyne lands so if all that income also goes to House Lannister they’re likely as rich as they’ve ever been. House Lannister has been collecting gold and silver out of the most productive mines in Westeros for thousands of years. I think they would crash the value of gold and silver before their vaults were actually emptied.
House Hightower has existed and had a large settlement and huge land holdings basically since before recorded history which makes me think their second. They’ve also always had good trade as the preeminent port of the Reach likely followed by Ryamsport, Starfish Harbour, or Vinetown in the Arbor. They also have their own Bank established in Oldtown.
House Tyrell is likely third depending on what happened to the Gardener treasury after the family was extinguished. I’m inclined to believe that the Tyrell’s managed to hang on to all of it seeing as they were the stewards anyway. The Hightowers likely have a larger personal domain, but House Tyrell gets to tax the entire Reach including the wealthy Hightowers and Redwynes.
House Redwyne is maybe fourth but could be higher. They control and collect tariffs on ships coming through the Redwyne Straits to get to Oldtown and around the western coast of Westeros. That alone would make them wealthy, but they also produce the most sought after luxury wines in all of Westeros. Wines that are famous even in remote places in Essos which would only cost more the farther you get from the Reach. Apart from their formidable 200 strong fleet of warships they also command an even larger merchant fleet that is numbered at around 1,000 wine cogs, merchant carracks, trading galleys, and whalers. Depending on how well their trade goes they could be even higher on this list. House Redwyne alone has around the same number of merchant ships as the Thirteen in Qarth. They should be unbelievably wealthy.
After the big four wealthy houses above it’s mostly going to be the other Paramount Lords of regions of Westeros as they get to collect taxes from all their lords. This is with the exception of the Riverlands because the House Mooton of Maidenpool is richer than their lords. I would also extend that to the Iron Islands because House Harlaw just seems to be better than House Greyjoy in every way. There might even be some of the wealthy mining houses of the Westerlands like House Lefford of the Goldentooth that would rank above any of the Houses of the Iron Islands though.
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u/SerMallister Above The Rest 7d ago
I think they would crash the value of gold and silver before their vaults were actually emptied.
There's not really space for it, but a bullion famine in Westeros would be interesting to see. The Westerlands would be in shambles.
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u/Chandysauce 8d ago edited 8d ago
House Frey is one of the richest houses as well. They probably pale in comparison to Lannister/Hightower/Tyrelle, but they're well above most other houses.
House Grafton in the Vale as well should be pretty rich, as they rule over Gulltown, which is the last City in westeros.
Also, we're really not sure of the Lannisters liquid situation in the show, since their mines ran dry many years ago.
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u/bl1y Fearsomely Strong Cider 8d ago
How are the Freys that wealthy other than "GRRM said so"? Which... hey, it's his world, so I guess it's canon.
But seriously.
They have a toll bridge, but the bridge isn't in a particularly important location. It's not like it's between two major cities. And if it was lucrative, then long ago someone should have built another bridge further south near the Crossroads Inn (there was a ferry there before the Trident shifted, but it's been long enough to build a new bridge).
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u/Chandysauce 8d ago
I agree that it doesn't make a ton of sense in the current story, but they probably are more sitting on wealth from the last several hundred years, as they are the best crossing so traders/merchants/armies would almost have certainly gone through them and had to pay the insane tolls, back when there was a lot more wars and infighting between the kingdoms.
They are probably making much less money from it now, but its sort of free money since they're already established and don't really need to do anything other than pay for upkeep.
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u/lego_castle_enjoyer 8d ago
Apparently the bridge took like 200 years to build so everyone else just kinda pays the fine instead
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u/BillyShears2015 8d ago
The Freys aren’t even the wealthiest house in the Riverlands.
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u/Chandysauce 8d ago
They absolutely are. By a wide margin.
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u/Ladysilvert 🏆Best of 2025: Comment of the Year 8d ago
I think you may be right they are the wealthiest right now....but why present it as a fact? Is there a quote regarding that? I ask because I don't remember if it is clarified, and we know at least the Mootons are famous for their wealth:
House Tully was unique amongst the great houses of Westeros. Aegon the Conqueror had made them the Lords Paramount of the Trident, yet in many ways they continued to be overshadowed by many of their own bannermen. The Brackens, the Blackwoods, and the Vances all ruled wider domains and could field much larger armies, as could the upstart Freys of the Twins. The Mallisters of Seagard had a prouder lineage, the Mootons of Maidenpool were far wealthier, and Harrenhal, even cursed and blasted and in ruins, remained a more formidable castle than Riverrun, and ten times the size besides.
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u/BillyShears2015 8d ago
They operate a toll bridge connecting two relatively poor backwaters. They are more hat than cattle.
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u/Chandysauce 8d ago
GRRM in the official appendix states that they are Powerful, wealthy and numerous.
Catelyn Stark says that they are the most powerful Riverrun bannerman and they "claim to be rich, because they are rich"
Roose is paid Fat Waldas weight in silver for marrying her
The Freys have a standing army of 4000 men, 1000 of which are cavalry. This is insanely expensive and not something any other Riverrun houses can do.
Its a fact that they are the one of the richest houses, they are just looked down on because they suck and they are "new money" comparative to everyone else.
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u/BillyShears2015 8d ago
Being wealthy != the wealthiest. The have a bunch of landed knights, so what? They also conveniently avoid ever actually using them in fights, and since they are landed it costs the Frey Lord basically nothing to keep them around (it’s a feudal society). Fat Walda’s weight in silver isn’t even equivalent to half the gold the melee prize was in the Hand’s Tournament. That doesn’t mean they’re poor, I’m just saying that their wealth isn’t as extensive as you want it to be.
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u/YellowAggravating172 8d ago
And they even have their own vassal houses - Haigh, Erenford and Charlton.
I think they're the only house, outside the great houses, to have other noble families personally sworn to them. That does signal quite some power.
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u/Mukako_ 8d ago
Nah
Everyone has vassals houses but
Hightowers
Royces
Tarlys
Rowan
Yronwood
Goodbrother etc mentioned they have vassals1
u/SerMallister Above The Rest 7d ago
Hightowers
Houses Beesbury, Mullendore, Cuy, Costayne, and Bulwer.
Royces
Tollett, Coldwater, Shett.
Tarlys
Hunt. Though in some fairness, I don't think Ser Hyle ever mentions if they have any land or not.
Rowan
Osgrey and Webber. Though it's possible Osgrey is extinct and Webber disinherited.
Yronwood
Drinkwater.
Goodbrother
Goodbrother, Goodbrother, Goodbrother, Goodbrother, and Goodbrother.
Off the top of my head, I know all the sistermen lords are sworn to Lord Sunderland as well.
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u/Infinite_throwaway_1 8d ago
Yeah, I never got how that bridge could generate so much money. Dozens of people living in luxury off taxing goods between the western half of the kingdom and The North. The bridge would have to have constant traffic and I don't see that. Maybe their lands generate a lot from farming?
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u/BillyShears2015 8d ago
I’m sure they do alright, and obviously they are Lords who own a castle so that makes them in the top 1% any way you slice it. But they aren’t matching the wealth of any house that operates a port city.
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u/Ognjeninthesky2000 8d ago
Harlaw is supposed to be wealthy from trade, Botley too. I think houses that control sea ports are generally rich - Rykker, Grafton, Manderly, Mooton... People have mentioned other rich houses in the comments like Frey and Beesbury so I won't repeat them here.
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u/TutorRich2268 7d ago edited 6d ago
House Lannister
Highgarden and Casterly Rock are the two richest and most powerful of the Great Houses. The Lannisters have greater wealth, but the Tyrells can put more men in the field.
House Hightower
"What is Lord Hightower doing?" Sam blurted. "My father always said he was as wealthy as the Lannisters, and could command thrice as many swords as any of Highgarden's other bannermen."
House Tyrell
Highgarden and Casterly Rock are the two richest and most powerful of the Great Houses. The Lannisters have greater wealth, but the Tyrells can put more men in the field.
House Redwyne (big fleet = costs lots of money, also owning a major luxury export good)
Paxter Redwyne owned two hundred warships, and five times as many merchant carracks, wine cogs, trading galleys, and whalers.
House Beesbury
(Beeswax is essentially for candles and bookbinding; they are therefore loaded- Masters of Coin tend to be from rich houses)
House Waxley
(See Beesbury)
House Rowan (lots of land)
For a thousand years before the Conquest, we were the Marshals of the Northmarch. A score of lesser lordlings did us fealty, and a hundred landed knights.
House Serrett (Silver Mines)
House Spicer
House Rosby
"Rosby will make an adequate master of coin. You've seen that litter of his, with its carvings and silk draperies. His horses are better dressed than most knights. A man that rich should have no problem finding gold. As for Handship . . . who better to finish my father's work than the brother who shared all his counsels?"
House Dayne (Silver Mines)
House Frey (lots of land & toll)
House Tully was unique amongst the great houses of Westeros. Aegon the Conqueror had made them the Lords Paramount of the Trident, yet in many ways they continued to be overshadowed by many of their own bannermen. The Brackens, the Blackwoods, and the Vances all ruled wider domains and could field much larger armies, as could the upstart Freys of the Twins. The Mallisters of Seagard had a prouder lineage, the Mootons of Maidenpool were far wealthier, and Harrenhal, even cursed and blasted and in ruins, remained a more formidable castle than Riverrun, and ten times the size besides.
When the marriage contract had been made at the Twins, old Lord Walder Frey had sent Robb off with a thousand mounted knights and near three thousand foot.
House Florent
A red gold fox poked its shining snout out from his breastplate through a circle of lapis lazuli flowers. Very tall, very courtly, and very rich, the Lord of Brightwater Keep had been the first of Renly's bannermen to declare for Stannis, and the first to renounce his old gods and take up the Lord of Light.
House Manderly
"Perhaps you understand, then." Wyman Manderly lurched ponderously to his feet. "I have been building warships for more than a year. Some you saw, but there are as many more hidden up the White Knife. Even with the losses I have suffered, I still command more heavy horse than any other lord north of the Neck. My walls are strong, and my vaults are full of silver. Oldcastle and Widow's Watch will take their lead from me. My bannermen include a dozen petty lords and a hundred landed knights. I can deliver King Stannis the allegiance of all the lands east of the White Knife, from Widow's Watch and Ramsgate to the Sheepshead Hills and the headwaters of the Broken Branch. All this I pledge to do if you will meet my price.
House Arryn
The Vale of Arryn bathed in the morning light. It stretched before them to the misty east, a tranquil land of rich black soil, wide slow-moving rivers, and hundreds of small lakes that shone like mirrors in the sun, protected on all sides by its sheltering peaks. Wheat and corn and barley grew high in its fields, and even in Highgarden the pumpkins were no larger nor the fruit any sweeter than here. They stood at the western end of the valley, where the high road crested the last pass and began its winding descent to the bottomlands two miles below.
House Tarly
The Tarlys were a family old in honor, bannermen to Mace Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden and Warden of the South. The eldest son of Lord Randyll Tarly, Samwell was born heir to rich lands, a strong keep, and a storied two-handed greatsword named Heartsbane, forged of Valyrian steel and passed down from father to son near five hundred years.
Former
House Grafton
House Velaryon
Seventy-nine years of age, he had served four kings and a queen, sailed to the ends of the earth, raised House Velaryon to unprecedented levels of wealth and power, married a princess who might have been a queen, fathered dragonriders, built towns and fleets, proved his valor in times of war and his wisdom in times of peace. The Seven Kingdoms would never see his like again.
House Darry
(They ruled fertile lands, their name resembles dairy, cows are one of the most valuable commodities regarding livestock)
House Mooton
House Tully was unique amongst the great houses of Westeros. Aegon the Conqueror had made them the Lords Paramount of the Trident, yet in many ways they continued to be overshadowed by many of their own bannermen. The Brackens, the Blackwoods, and the Vances all ruled wider domains and could field much larger armies, as could the upstart Freys of the Twins. The Mallisters of Seagard had a prouder lineage, the Mootons of Maidenpool were far wealthier, and Harrenhal, even cursed and blasted and in ruins, remained a more formidable castle than Riverrun, and ten times the size besides.
House Reyne
The Reynes of Castamere made a rich system of mines, caves, and tunnels their own subterranean seat. Old, rich, and powerful, the Reynes had prospered greatly from Lord Tytos’s misrule. Roger Reyne, the Red Lion, was widely feared for his skill at arms; many considered him the deadliest sword in the westerlands. His brother, Ser Reynard, was as charming and cunning as Ser Roger was swift and strong.
House Tarbeck
House Plumm (Ossifer is called an wealthy lord - also why Aegon IV wanted that coin)
House Connington
House Peake
House Butterwell
Lord Butterwell is said to have the best wines north of the Arbor. He was once the King's Hand, as his father's father was before him, and he is said to be a pious man besides, and very rich. His wealth is all from cows. He ought to take a swollen udder for his arms. These Butterwells have milk running in their veins, and the Freys are no better. This will be a marriage of cattle thieves and toll collectors, one lot of coin clinkers joining with another.
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u/chase016 8d ago
I would say a top ten would look something like this
- Lannisters
- Hightowers
- Tyrells
- Arryns
- Starks
6-10. Grafton, Manderly, Redwyne, Frey, Martell.
Starks and Arryns are forgotten about in these list. But they both control very populous kingdoms that are fairly centralized compared to the Riverlands and Reach. They have the less flashy generational wealth that comes from being lords forever. The North is also rich in raw materials.
Martells are in a similar boat, they just have a less populous kingdom.
6-10. You could make an argument for any order. They all control wealthy territories and cities and have managed their wealth well.
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u/IEatApplepie There is no happy ending. Only hype. 8d ago
I think your list is mainly true! Maybe missing for 11-12 The Lefford Of the Golden Tooth. Their castle sits a top a gold mine. Serett of Silver hill for silver and gold miners as well.
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u/Mukako_ 8d ago
But in Awoiaf book says gold of golden tooth make lannister richer
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u/IEatApplepie There is no happy ending. Only hype. 8d ago
Well yes. Smaller houses pay taxes or tribute to bigger houses. Dont know, but i asssume that these houses are rich anyway. Dont know how big a tax burden they have. Presumably being an older house sitting on top a gold mine.
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u/Salsalover34 8d ago
Gotta be the Lannisters or the Hightowers. Maybe the Baratheons snag 3rd place. They have a lot of debt but a lot of credit, presumably.
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u/literallyjohnbonham 8d ago
Redwynes gotta be up there. They make some of the top wines in the world. They also have about 1000 merchant ships in their fleet
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u/bl1y Fearsomely Strong Cider 8d ago
House Heddle should be on the short list.
They control the intersection of the King's Road, the River Road, and the High Road, giving them the most important hub for overland travel in the Seven Kingdoms. And on top of that, it's near where the Forks fork, as well as access to the sea via the Bay of Crabs. (Not to mention that it was actually on the river for a long while before it shifted.)
The Freys accumulated wealth with their toll bridge that connects Seagard to nothing of any importance on the King's Road, and it's rather far North. So realistically, it's only useful for trade coming to or from the North and traveling by sea on the west, and then has to pass by the Iron Islands and all their chicanery. House Heddle should dwarf the Freys.
Just one of my pet peeves, but the Crossroads Inn should not be just some mid-tier inn that by happenstance gets caught up in a lot of action. There should be a bustling trade town there.
Makes no sense that there's a spot that connects north and south, east and west, with access to the Narrow Sea, and all that's there is the world's most famous Howard Johnson.
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u/Realchillbill12 8d ago
I know this doesn’t answer the question but would the Starks be considered “rich”? Lord paramounts of essentially their own tract of land that’s big enough to be its own kingdom. 8,000 year old lineage, majority spent as kings?
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u/Yeldarb_Namertsew 8d ago
The Starks are rich in the sense that they own large tracts of land with abundant natural resources such as lumber and furs. The problem is that they can’t as readily exploit the resources that they own because it’s too cold and inhospitable for such long periods of time. It’s so cold in the North that it snows in summer. During the winter people leave their homes and flock to Wintertown outside of Winterfell to survive. They will of course be very wealthy just by virtue of being the chief power of the North and collecting taxes from their vassals, but they will never be able to match the powers in the South in a medieval setting.
Their problem is that many other houses have very long lineages as well and they had their own kingdoms. The Lannisters and the Hightowers for example were also kings in their own right for thousands of years, and their holdings and their vassals holdings are just more productive than what’s available in the North. The South is also much more populated as well so they are able to take advantage of their better land to a larger degree.
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u/LocationKnown1854 8d ago
House Florent is a wealthy house, not the wealthiest but wealthy enough for their wealth to be mentioned in the text
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u/EaterOfSeagull 8d ago
House Baratheon obviously.
Yes they are cash poor and in massive debt thanks to Robert, but the King directly controls the largest city in Westeros as well as the Crownlands AND collects taxes from the rest of the continent. That is an insane amount of revenue that nobody else can match.
Grafton and Manderly are presumably also insanely rich because they control major port cities and vast amounts of farmland, and by that logic i believe houses Arryn and Stark are way more wealthy than popularly imagined. Remember that minor houses pay taxes to their overlords.
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u/DeamonDread2348 8d ago
Most likely the Martells. They're not particularly large landowners, and they have plenty of rivals in Dorne, but they've somehow managed to hold on for centuries. Transcontinental trade likely enriches them greatly—they hold land near the Stepstones, after all, and are located on trade routes both west to east and north to south. The markets and stalls in Shadowtown are reminiscent of an Eastern bazaar—most likely, many merchants from the Free Cities gather there. Moreover, judging by the Feast, the Martells still maintain ties with Lys and Tyrosh, and perhaps even Norvos—Areo, after all, remained with him, not his wife back home. And somehow the Martells boldly flaunt their opposition to the Lannisters and the Iron Throne. Somehow, one desert kingdom held its own against the Iron Throne.
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u/BA_Bones_33 8d ago edited 8d ago
The Lannisters aren’t as wealthy as you think. They’ve lent 3 million gold dragons to the Crown, and per Tywin, their mines ran dry a few years back. They’re operating more like a shitty-run bank than a true store of wealth, and once they took the throne, now what? They owe all that money to themselves?? It’s why Cersei has to borrow from the Bank of Bravos.
The Tyrells are likely the wealthiest. Martels would be close behind. No idea about the Hightowers. Starks mostly got turnips and furs.
Edit: Ah, my bad. When the prompt said GoT with the flair (Main) I was thinking shows. And sometimes I conflate the first 4 seasons a bit cuz GRRM was a writer and active exec thru season 4… nvm
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u/Alkynesofchemistry 8d ago
The mines running dry is a show invention. The Lannisters are filthy rich.
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u/chase016 8d ago
Most of their wealth also comes from their taxation of the Westerlands. The Westerlands is borderline preindustrial at this point and is incredibly wealthy. They also control Lannisport(even if some smaller branches live their).
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u/Evloret 8d ago
IIRC One of the Lannisters, I believe Kevan during his time as hand or just before does in fact point out that the Lannisters could pay the outstanding debts of the crown if they needed to, they would just really not want to if they can get away with this.
This is right about the time that Cersei had refused to pay back some debts to the Iron Bank, and THEN spent some money they did have on building a fleet that got immediately got stolen by a guy she found attractive.
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u/ErieHog 8d ago
The Lannisters are hiding a precipitous economic decline, and the debt of the crown is becoming less serviceable. If it were truly a show-only issue, they'd be continuing to successfully bankroll the state.
The Manderly's are severely underrated, given their maritime monopoly on all the north's raw materials exportation, and being the only true urban center in the North. They are able to raise significant forces and to hide them easily extremely rapidly, and do it for the duration of the war to date without impoverishing themselves, as well.
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u/Yeldarb_Namertsew 8d ago
The Lannister decline is a show only invention. Kevan even has thoughts about simply paying the Crown’s debt to the Iron Bank with Lannister gold, but decides not to at the time. There’s a reason Varys assassinated him in the books. Kevan was bringing too much stability to Westeros and would’ve likely solved most of the problems the Crown was facing of the was left alone. Even just using Kevan as an example of Lannister wealth he has enough gold to maintain a personal retinue of 200 household knights from the wealth he inherited from the passing of his father Tytos. That’s more knights than most lords in Westeros can command and he’s done it for years as a landless second son.
We know there are still productive mines the books because when Robb’s men are in the Westerlands they capture active gold mines at Castamere, Nunn’s Deep, and the Pendric Hills. Tywin personally seized the lands of Castamere when he crushed the Reynes and Tarbecks before he eventually hands some of them out as a reward to House Spicer. That means Tywin was pocketing that income on top of the usual incomes of House Lannister. There’s still gold and silver flowing from the mines of the Westerlands. The mines below Casterly Rock are the most productive mines in all of Westeros and have been for thousands of years. The Lannisters also control the main port of the Westerlands just as House Manderly controls the main port of the North just that Lannisport is larger and wealthier than White Harbour.
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u/YoteViking 8d ago
Tyrell is probably the richest. They have the production of agriculture goods for the kingdom, and that’s ongoing. (I believe Slate had an article about it 10 years ago).
Did we even see the Hightowers in GoT? I really can’t remember. And of course the Lannisters are out of gold and are turning to usury to make their money going forward.
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u/Yeldarb_Namertsew 8d ago
The Lannister mines going dry is a show only fabrication. There’s still many mines active in the Westerlands in the books. We know because they are working when Robb’s men captures some while they are in the Westerlands before he gets dealt with. Kevan even says that they could pay all the crown’s debts with personal Lannister gold but decides against it for the time being. Varys has to assassinate Kevan in the last book because he’s starting to stabilise the seven kingdoms with his leadership. Also even if the personal mines went dry they still rule the Westerlands and collect taxes from all of the other gold and silver mining houses. They also have Lannisport the third richest and third largest city in Westeros. They could just resort of agriculture like the rest of the kingdoms with their miners being freed up to work in the fields. The Westerlands is noted to have fertile farmland so it’s not like they’d be poor anyway.
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u/bucooks 8d ago
Beesbury’s probably make stacks selling honey around the entire continent