The big interview

Does money really make you happy, Mr. Hörhan?

Gerald Hörhan, self-proclaimed "real estate punk" and author of "The One-Room Millionaire"

(Bild: Burak Cayci (Agentur Kocak GmbH)/WWW.FATIHKOCAK.DE)

A quirky multimillionaire claims that anyone can get rich - even in times of inflation and rising interest rates. Gerald Hörhan talks to Conny Bischofberger about "ugly little holes" as a financial strategy, stupid things like "a home on credit in the sticks" and values that he passes on to his eight-year-old son.

It was the week of the "real estate punk": On Tuesday, Gerald Hörhan, whose trademarks are a punk hairstyle, a "Fuck" T-shirt and Doc Marten boots, presented his new book in Vienna. Then on Thursday in his "real estate home" Frankfurt. "They were great parties," he says when we speak on the phone on Friday afternoon.

"Both times 200 invited guests, all books sold out, I signed books for three hours each time." "The One-Room Millionaire" is currently topping the bestseller lists on Amazon. Subtitle: "How you can't stop yourself from getting rich". During our interview, Hörhan is being chauffeured from Frankfurt to Karlsruhe, where he will be giving a lecture. Before that, he visited three apartment buildings, after which he has dinner with a real estate agent.

"Sitting on the golden throne doesn't mean you can fly," says self-promoter Gerald Hörhan.

(Bild: Burak Cayci (Agentur Kocak GmbH)/WWW.FATIHKOCAK.DE)

"Krone": Mr. Hörhan, in the photo we see here, you are sitting on a throne next to towers of gold bars. What are you trying to tell us?
We shot this in a small, ugly hole. As all my apartments were rented out, a participant in my Investmentpunk Academy let me use his one-bedroom apartment, which he had just bought as an investment property. The photo is intended to express exactly what my book says: you can get rich with small holes. But sitting on the golden throne doesn't mean you can fly. You always have to keep your feet on the ground, otherwise the whole thing will go wrong.