Harvey was born in rural New South Wales and attended school at Bathurst and Katoomba before moving to Sydney to go to university when he was 17, but he dropped out.
[3] The chain, which was called Norman Ross, expanded to forty-two stores with annual sales of A$240 million by 1979.
He frequently gives comment on economic and business matters in the national press and television media and has a sizeable public profile.
[7] In response to the campaign, the Federal Government asked the Productivity Commission to investigate and report on the retail industry.
He also owns 50% of Magic Millions, one of the largest and most expensive thoroughbred auction events in the Australian racing industry.
[11] In an interview in 2008, he described giving charity to the homeless as "a waste", and said that it was "helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason".
[13] In 2016, Harvey expressed contempt for what he saw as political uncertainty since John Howard left office, and said the only solution is "to have a dictator like in China".