Tinkler says assets controlled by wife

Troubled Australian mining magnate Nathan Tinkler on Friday provided a surprising glimpse into his personal finances, telling an Australian court that his wife controlled the family fortune and that his personal income was less than A$9,834 ($10,185) last year.

Speaking at a liquidation hearing for his company, Mulsanne Resources Pty. Ltd., Tinkler said the only assets in his name were a A$700,000 farm and joint bank accounts with about A$250,000 in them.

Tinkler told the court his income came from interest on the bank accounts, while he lived on money given to him by his wife, who was the sole beneficiary of a family trust he initially valued at about A$1.4 billion.

"Your wife gives you money from time to time?" asked Robert Newlinds, representing Mulsanne's liquidator, Ferrier Hodgson.

"I'm very lucky, yes," Tinkler replied. When pressed on how much money he received from his wife, Tinkler said he was unsure and that he couldn't provide an estimate rounded to the closest million.

The former electrician, who was once Australia's youngest billionaire, was in court for a second day to answer questions about Mulsanne's failure to pay A$28.4 million for 33.85% of listed Australian coal company Blackwood Corp. Tinkler on Thursday blamed his failure to pay for the shares on Blackwood's majority owner Noble Group Ltd., which he claims reneged on a separate deal that would have funded the share acquisition.

"You know there is no e-mail, letter or note that records any of these discussions you were having with Noble?" Newlinds asked Friday.

Tinkler replied: "No, I don't."

Noble did not respond to e-mails asking for comment on the deal.

Lawyers for Mulsanne's liquidator earlier in the week won a legal skirmish to gain access to Tinkler's personal financial records as they seek to ascertain if they can claim against his assets to recoup money owed to Blackwood. The Tinkler trust's biggest asset is a 19.4% stake in Whitehaven Coal Ltd., an Australian coal mining company whose value has slumped 56% in the past year, reducing the value of Tinkler's stake to A$466 million.

Figures discussed in the courtroom proved elastic during the course of the exchanges on Friday. Asked how much his companies owed to creditors, Tinkler said it was "probably around A$500 million," though he later said it was A$600 million.

Tinkler's creditors include Farallon Capital Management LLC and Credit Suisse Group. It is not known what claims they have against Tinkler's assets.