Gerry Harvey claims you can get rich by buying Harvey Norman shares

Billionaire Gerry Harvey has outlined the surprisingly simple way to get rich like him and he says it will only take four years to do it.

The Harvey Norman boss, who is worth $1.7billion, reckons anyone could quit their day job if they plunged all their assets into his company’s shares.

He believes the Australian share market undervalues Harvey Norman stock by up to 50 per cent but expects that situation will correct itself.

As Harvey Normal executive chairman he controls a huge property portfolio worth between $3.9billion and $5billion, which he says the market has not accounted for in the value of the stock price.

Although Harvey Norman profits slumped, Gerry Harvey believes the scarcity of real estate for major retailers and a swing back to face-to-face stores will see his company boom again

‘My advice to you is sell your house, sell your boat, sell your car, put the lot into Harvey Norman and then ring me in three or four years, and you won’t need to be a journalist any more,’ he told the AFR’s Chanticleer column.

After the company disclosed lower than expected profits and sales for the six months to December, 2022 down 10.4 per cent, its share price tumbled 7.5 per cent to $3.85.

The company’s reported profit was down 15.1 per cent to $365.9million.

But Harvey believes the stock is worth ‘six to eight bucks’.

There is some precedent for the company’s stock being undervalued. In February, 2018 it was trading at $3.65 leading to public statements by Harvey that it was undervalued.

By March, 2021 Harvey Norman shares were worth $6, before falling since.

Last week Harvey said he doubted Australia was headed for a recession, as some pundits have predicted

Harvey believes the scarcity of real estate for major retailers and a swing back to face-to-face stores after online sales boomed during the pandemic will see his company boom again.

Last week Harvey said he doubted Australia was headed for a recession, as some pundits have predicted.

He said life will be ‘tougher’ in Australia due to surging electricity prices and climbing interest rates.

‘We don’t see how [a recession is] possible. Because if you’re going to have a recession, you’re going to have interest rates above 8 or 10 per cent. And you’re going to have unemployment above 8 or 10 per cent. Neither one of those things is happening,’ Harvey said.