Bright sparky tops BRW young rich list

NATHAN Tinkler's schoolmates tipped a bright future for him as a sparky.

NATHAN Tinkler's schoolmates tipped a bright future for him as a sparky.

He did find work as an apprentice electrician -- but barely a decade later the self-made Brisbane mogul with a fancy for horseflesh has topped the BRW Young Rich List with a $441million fortune.

"We're all absolutely ecstatic for him," his sister Donna told The Australian yesterday from the family's Serene Lodge racing complex near Port Macquarie on the mid-north coast of NSW.

Fortune had not changed her brother. "He's still a very easygoing, genuine man," she said.

Mr Tinkler, now 32, worked as an electrician in Hunter Valley coalmines before setting up a mine machinery maintenance business at the age of 26.

He then founded a company, Custom Mining, with his father, Les, who worked in the earthmoving industry.

The pair raised $30 million from an Asian investor barely a year ago to buy coalmines in central Queensland.

Macarthur Coal then bought the mines for $275 million, giving Mr Tinkler a 10 per cent stake in the company.

In May he sold his stake to global steel giant ArcelorMittor and walked away with $441 million.

The Ferrari-driving deal-maker shares his late grandfather's passion for horse racing.

As one of Australia's biggest buyers of racehorses, he splurged $18 million for 56 horses during the Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast in March.

But he shut down the Gold Coast arm of his Patinack Farm racing venture this month, less than a year after he paid $3.28 million to buy the stable complex from Gold Coast Turf Club chairman Hoss Heinrich. He also parted ways with his right-hand man Roger Langley -- the director of Patinack Farm -- this month.

Mr Langley yesterday refused to say whether he had quit or been sacked. "He's young," Mr Langley told The Australian yesterday of his former boss.

"He's got lots to learn, but it's not worthwhile going over it.

"It's been an enormous rollercoaster for the past two years with Nathan."

Mr Langley congratulated Mr Tinkler on topping the rich list.

"He really worked his arse off and made enormous sacrifices to get there," he said.

"I just wish him well in that sense. He had the insight and tenacity and wherewithal to find a partner and get the deal and follow it through to completion, so good luck to him."

Mr Tinkler did not return calls from The Australian yesterday.