FORMER Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis is set to be officially pardoned by Donald Trump.
The Brit billionaire, 88, was handed a hefty £4million fine over insider trading and conspiracy charges last year – with his future at Spurs now being revealed.
He handed over control of the North London club to the Lewis Family Trust in 2022 and has now announced his retirement altogether.
Trump’s decision to pardon Lewis is due to be published by the White House later on Thursday.
Lewis said in a statement: “I am pleased all of this is now behind me, and I can enjoy retirement and watch as my family and extended family continue to build our businesses based on the quality and pursuit of excellence that has become our trademark.”
A source close to the Lewis family added: “Joe and the Lewis family are extremely grateful for this pardon and would like to thank President Trump for taking this action.
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“Over his long business career, Joe has been a visionary, creating businesses across the world which multiple generations of his family are now taking forward.
“There is so much more to the Joe Lewis story than this one event.”
The Lewis family took full operational control of Tottenham earlier this year following the departure of former chairman Daniel Levy.
Levy was dramatically forced out of Spurs after 25 years at the helm.
Joe’s daughter Vivienne and his son Charles are set to continue on the Lewis legacy at Spurs.
Nick Beucher, the husband of Vivienne’s daughter has also taken on further responsibilities along with non-executive chairman Peter Charrington and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham.
The latest addition to the management team is Eric Hinson who joined in October as a non-executive director on the board.
East End-local Lewis was as high as 39th in the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List.
He boasts a mega property portfolio across the world, a $250million (£190million) yacht, private planes worth $90million (£70million) and an art collection valued $100million (£80m).
His estimated net worth at the time of his initial arrest was around £5billion.
Lewis was found to have spilled secrets to his girlfriend, private pilots, family, and friends as part of a “brazen” multi-year scheme that was said to have earned his inner circle millions.
He was charged with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy for crimes spanning from 2013 to 2021.
Prosecutors branded his actions as “classic corporate corruption”.
He ended up pleading guilty in January, 2024 to one count of conspiracy and two counts of securities fraud.
The glitzy rise of Joe Lewis
BRIT billionaire businessman Joe Lewis has been sentenced for insider training. Here is the rise and fall of the ex-Spurs chief:
After quitting school at the age of 15, entrepreneurial Lewis went to work for his dad’s catering company.
Lewis began managing a super-club called The Talk of the Town – where the likes of Frank Sinatra performed – in the 1960s, and granted girl group The Nolans their first live show.
He then got a taste for business and took over the firm – turning it into a string of restaurants before flogging it in 1979 for a whopping £30million.
Lewis used his cash influx to invest in currency trading and was subbed The Boxer in a nod to his wild success and power in the investment ring.
Lewis forked out £22million in 2001 to buy a controlling stake in Tottenham Hotspur from Lord Sugar.
One particular investment on Black Wednesday in September 1992 helped elevate him to uber-rich status, as he successfully bet on the Pound crashing out of the European Exchange Rate as Britain tried to align it with other Euro countries.
He became a billionaire overnight – and the financial magic trick worked again years later with a big short against the Mexican peso.
Along the way, Lewis founded Bahamas-based investment firm Tavistock Group – which he has propelled into one of the most dominant private equity firms in the world.
But it’s not been all work and no play for Lewis, who has spent eye-watering sums on luxury items – homes, art and a superyacht worth £190million, which can house up to 16 guests.
In 2022, Lewis made history by selling David Hockney’s 1972 piece, ‘Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Tool Figures)’.
Having owned the piece since 1995, Lewis auctioned it off for £70.3million – setting a new record for artwork by a living artist.
However, his life of glamour, football and boats all came crashing down when US prosecutors charged him with insider trading and conspiracy in July, 2023.
They accused him of tipping off his girlfriend, jet pilots and other members of his inner circle with insider secrets that helped them make millions over several years.
On January 24, 2024, he pleaded guilty to security fraud and was made to pay a huge fine before being pardoned by Trump in 2025.
Lewis was facing up to two years behind bars but managed to escape with a fine and three years of probation.
The pardon comes just days after Trump announced over 75 other pardons.
Rudy Giuliani and a slew of top Trump allies who were accused of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election were all let off the hook.
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Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, was pardoned – even though no federal charges have been brought against him.
Mark Meadows, Trump’s ex-chief of staff, Sidney Powell, and long-time adviser Boris Epshteyn were also given full and unconditional pardons.
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