Australian self-made coal baron Nathan Tinkler has gone from being the nation’s youngest billionaire to officially bankrupt in just five years, capping a dramatic fall from grace after he failed to appeal a court order.
Tinkler, a larger-than-life character who spent millions on sporting clubs and horse racing, making enemies along the way, yesterday apologized to creditors and his family, while telling a newspaper that “I can hear the champagne corks popping in the background.”
The 40-year-old started out in the mining industry as an electrician, before building up his wealth on a series of canny coal transactions.
He made it to the top of Australia’s young rich list with a personal fortune of A$1.13 billion (US$826.24 million) in 2011, which was equivalent to about the same amount in US dollars at the time.
His immense wealth saw him buy into two national sporting franchises, the National Rugby League’s Newcastle Knights and A-League soccer club the Newcastle Jets, as well as a large thoroughbred stud.
However, as coal prices collapsed in the following years, Tinkler — who moved from his native Newcastle, north of Sydney, to Singapore in 2012 — found himself under growing financial pressure.
He sold the Knights and his thoroughbred breeding and racing empire in 2014 and was stripped of his Jets ownership last year.
Tinkler was taken to the Australian Federal Court by GE Commercial over a US$2.25 million debt from a private jet, with a judge ruling on Feb. 9 that a sequestration order be made against his estate.
The order came into force this week after Tinkler failed to appeal the decision, which was stayed for 21 days.
“I would like to apologize to the creditors and my family,” Tinkler told the Sydney Morning Herald, quipping that he might have more success as an anti-coal campaigner.
“I might become an activist and have the full support of the government and the media and have no responsibility,” he said.
He added to the Newcastle Herald that “I can hear the champagne corks popping in the background.”
Tinkler’s bankruptcy trustee John Melluish said that Tinkler had only disclosed two assets, “negligible” cash in a bank account and one property.
“It means that our investigations will start potentially into assets that he might have owned once that he might have disposed of or assets that he’s given away over a period of time,” Melluish said. “I hope to meet with Mr Tinkler next week some time.”
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