nathan tinkler 32 with 441 million

Perth boy Hilton Nathanson's $385m fortuneArticle from: PerthNowFont

September 24, 2008 01:55pm

A HEDGE fund manager from Perth has claimed second spot on a list of the richest self-made young Australians, with estimated wealth of $385 million.

It is the first appearance on the Business Review Weekly list for Hilton Nathanson, 38, who was ranked second behind former Queensland electrician Nathan Tinkler, 32, with $441 million.

The list ranks the top 100 Australians aged under 40 who have self-made fortunes of more than $20 million.

Mr Nathanson followed the Australian sharemarket since he was a youngster, according to an online profile, and has a commerce degree from the University of WA.

He was an analyst for stockbroker Goldman Sachs before leaving to complete an MBA at City University, London.

He co-founded UK-based alternative asset manager Marble Bar Asset Management in 2002.

Marble Bar was sold in January this year to Zurich-based private bank EFG International for a reported US$517 million in cash and a further $300-800 million hinged to performance.

At the time of the sale, Marble Bar was reported to have about $4.4 billion of assets under management.

BRW reporter Georgina Dent said the number of new entries was interesting, including many who jumped straight onto the list's upper rungs, headed by Mr Tinkler.

``He's actually a former mining electrician who purchased a coal mine in 2006 for around $30 million,'' Ms Dent said of the coal-powered rise to the top.

``He then sold it back to Macarthur Coal for $275 million, for a combination of cash and shares.

``He sold those shares at the beginning of this year and walked away with $441 million.''

Mr Tinkler is now indulging his passion of horse racing and has been snapping up horses, stables and studs across Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Tinkler knocked Sydney-based property developer Shaun Bonett off the top of the list.

Mr Bonett, 37, who has $340 million in assets, slips to sixth place on this year's list.

There are 25 new names in the Top 100, with notable debutants including motocross star Chad Reed (No.83, $25 million) and F1 driver Mark Webber (No.93, $23 million).

There are just 14 women on the list, down from 18 last year, including pop princess Kylie Minogue (No.23, $84 million) and actress Cate Blanchett (No.41, $48 million).

After WA's Mr Nathanson, the reclusive Grinham brothers, Angus and Richard, share third spot with a combined $368 million from their portfolio management, followed by Adelaide property developer Ross Makris ($350 million) who remains in fifth place.

The rapid flourishing of young and newly uber-rich set had pushed more recognisable names down the list, Ms Dent said.

Another London-based hedge fund manager, Greg Coffey, had his first ever appearance in the list this year at seventh spot ($335 million), while IT whiz Simon Clausen is another debutant at eighth ($170 million).

``We've had some really impressive debuts, seven out of the top ten are newcomers and six out of them have debut with wealth over $100 million.

``So it is pushing some of the other people down.''

To be eligible for the list, they must have acquired their wealth without any inheritance.

The full list will be published in the latest edition of BRW, which will hit newsstands tomorrow