Conjuring millions out of thin air!

Harry Potter needs only his magic wand to conjure up a host of different spells.

But his greatest trick? Making almost $1 billion appear out of thin air!

The Dail Mail reports that the Harry Potter franchise has now generated a collective fortune worth Rs 4,000 crore (over $900 million) for its author and movie stars.

Rags-to-riches novelist JK Rowling alone has made a staggering Rs 3500 crore from her wizard tales, and is now the world's wealthiest author!

20-year-old Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry in the Potter films, has earned nearly Rs 300 crore for take on the boy wizard.

That makes him wealthier than the UK's own Prince William and Prince Harry!

Meanwhile, Radcliffe's 20-year- old co-star Emma Watson, Hermione Granger in the films, has made about Rs 150 crore, while 21 year-old Rupert Grint, who played Harry's best friend Ronald Weasley, came in at nearly Rs 140 crore.

23-year-old hunk Robert Pattinson, who first captured hearts as Cedric Diggory in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before going on to star in the popular Twilight franchise, should thank the Potter series for his Rs 90 crore.
 
Not bad for a franchise that started with a Rs 1.7 lakh advance from Bloomsbury -- and that too after at least 8 publishers rejected Rowling's manuscript!

Image: (Left to right) Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint arrive for the premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Photograph: Jamie Fine/Reuters