tottenham owner joe lewis yacht

Joe Lewis’ $250 million superyacht, ranked among the world’s 25-most valuable, sets sail after he pays US fine

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club owner Joe Lewis

Joe Lewis’ superyacht is on the move again after spending most of the past year holed up in a Mediterranean port while the British billionaire faced insider-trading charges in the US.

His 322-foot (98-meter) Aviva — which he put up as collateral for bail — has traveled more than 400 nautical miles from Malta to cities along Albania’s coast as well as the Greek island of Zakynthos since he was sentenced April 4 to three years probation, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

After departing Zakynthos earlier this week, the Tavistock Group founder’s yacht was near Kalamata in southern Greece on Thursday morning local time, the data show. It’s the most the roughly $250 million vessel has traveled in about seven months, though it’s unclear if Lewis is on board.

Lewis, 87, pledged his yacht along with his private jet to secure his release following his arrest in July. A few months later, Aviva docked until April 5 in the Maltese capital of Valletta, where it can cost as much as €750 ($800) a night to moor vessels that exceed 75 meters.

Lewis, who was scheduled to have eye surgery in London recently, was prohibited from setting foot on the yacht that has long served as part-residence, part-office while awaiting trial. He was only allowed on board after paying a $5 million fine after sentencing, which he settled soon after the verdict in Manhattan.

A representative for Lewis, who has a net worth of about $7.3 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, declined to comment.

Lewis, whose global empire includes five-star hotels, private lenders and enclaves for the wealthy, launched Aviva in 2017. It includes eight guest suites, a helipad, padel tennis court, spa and a cinema. It ranked among the world’s 25-most valuable superyachts shortly after its launch, alongside those owned by Middle Eastern royals.

The yacht has also displayed works from Lewis’ private art collection, which is valued at more than $1 billion and includes pieces by Picasso, Freud, Klimt and Degas.

Events that authorities say took place on the yacht were a key piece of evidence that prosecutors used against him.

At dinner one night in September 2019, the billionaire received favorable news about Mirati Therapeutics Inc., an oncology company where he was a major investor, leading him to pass along the tip to a host of people, including the pilots of his private jet, according to US regulators.

Those pilots — Bryan “Marty” Waugh and Patrick O’Connor — were also charged with trading on inside information. O’Connor pleaded guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy and is due to be sentenced in May, while Waugh is fighting the charges.

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This 321-Foot Superyacht Was Allegedly Used as a Secret Venue for Insider Trading, According to a Lawsuit

The securities and exchange commission claims billionaire joe lewis shared insider information while aboard the outlandish vessel., tori latham, tori latham's most recent stories.

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British billionaire Joe Lewis—the owner of the Tottenham Hotspurs—has become embroiled in an insider trading case. But there’s a surprising side character in the saga: Lewis’s superyacht , Aviva .

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Tottenham hotspur owner joe lewis posts $300m bond with help of superyacht, private plane in insider trading case.

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That’s a boatload of money.

British Billionaire and Tottenham Hotspur soccer club owner Joe Lewis is putting up his superyacht and private plane to secure a $300 million bond so he can walk free after he was arrested on insider trading charges .

Lewis, 86, surrendered to federal authorities in New York on Wednesday morning on charges he gave inside information to a slew of people in his life — including romantic partners, friends, personal assistants and even private pilots — who made millions by using his tips on the stock market.

Lewis later appeared in Manhattan federal court wearing a grey suit, white shirt and black tie and told the judge he pleaded “not guilty.”

He was released on a $300 million bond that will be secured by his yacht, called “AVIVA,” and his personal plane.

AVIVA is a $250 million superyacht that was built in 2017 and is one of the largest yachts in the world at 322 feet in length, according to Yachtbible.com .

Lewis must keep the FBI abreast of the movements of his yacht, and he is only allowed to use his plane to travel to court appearances, according to the agreed-upon bail conditions.

The soccer club owner — who is worth $6.1 billion, according to Forbes — cannot go abroad and his US travel is limited to parts of New York and Florida.

Lewis, who founded the investment firm Tavistock Group, was hit with a 19-count indictment on charges of securities fraud and conspiracy.

The feds say that from 2019 through 2021 Lewis shared confidential intel about companies including Mirati Therapeutics, Solid Biosciences and Australian Agricultural Co.

He also allegedly conspired to defraud Mirati, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and investors from 2013 through 2018 by hiding his over 20% stake in Mirati — a cancer therapy company, according to the indictment.

The billionaire then lent his own money so that people could invest the cash based on his tips — including in October 2019 when Lewis wired $1 million to two pilots so they could buy shares of Mirati, prosecutors claim.

“Boss lent Marty and I $500,000 each for this,” the indictment alleges one of the pilots said in a text to a friend.

The aviator went on to say, “the Boss has inside info” because “otherwise why would he make us invest,” the court papers allege.

The two pilots paid the money back after the stock spiked by 16.7% when Mirati announced a successful clinical trial, prosecutors claim.

“The government has made an egregious error in judgment in charging Mr. Lewis, an 86-year-old man of impeccable integrity and prodigious accomplishment,” defense attorney David Zornow said in a statement Wednesday.

“Mr. Lewis has come to the US voluntarily to answer these ill-conceived charges, and we will defend him vigorously in court.”

The pilots, Patrick O’Connor and Bryan Waugh, were also charged in the case. They pleaded not guilty at the Wednesday arraignment and were each released on a $250,000 bond.

Attorneys for Waugh didn’t return requests for comment Wednesday. O’Connor’s lawyers declined to comment.

Lewis is due back in court on Sept. 5.

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The 98.4m superyacht Aviva was built for British businessman Joe Lewis who owns Tottenham Hotspur Football Club

Aviva: Inside the 98.4m Abeking & Rasmussen flagship yacht

The owner of Aviva challenged his design team to build a yacht around a padel tennis court — and 98m, 4,966GT and a mere three years later, she was launched.

She’s big — let’s get that out of the way. At 98.4 metres, Aviva became the 46th longest yacht in the world when she was delivered by Abeking & Rasmussen in 2017, and there are very few boats of her length that can match her for volume.

Her 17.24 metre beam is so generous that the designers pulled in the bridge deck superstructure to add side decks — improving crew circulation and refining the profile — because “we just didn’t need that much beam”.

They were right: spaces on board are magnificently expansive, from guest suites the size of the master suite on a 50 metre to an owner’s wardrobe that is, designer Andrew Langton notes quite seriously, “bigger than my house in France”. The fact that scale sits fairly low down on the list of Aviva ’s extraordinary features speaks to the imagination and belief-beggaring ambition of this project.

Aviva is the third yacht of her name delivered to owner Joe Lewis, British businessman and major shareholder in Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. The first, a 62 metre Winch design, was built at Feadship in the Netherlands; the second, a 68 metre Reymond Langton design , at Abeking & Rasmussen on the banks of the Weser river in Lemwerder, near Bremen.

For his grandest project yet Lewis returned to Abeking. “They were, surprisingly, much less conservative than other people. Maybe it’s because of the military stuff they do,” says Toby Silverton, head of design on the project, working with Reymond Langton, and who was also involved in Lewis’s two previous projects.

The yard’s biggest project had been 82.48 metre Secret and to take on Aviva it extended its build shed to accommodate yachts of up to 125 metres — a bold move into a larger size category. And its courage didn’t end there.

“Build a big yacht around a padel tennis court was the main brief, I guess,” says the yard’s project manager Andreas Hering, with admirable understatement. “In three years.”

How 74.5m Abeking & Rasmussen Elandess sprang from a blank sheet of paper

A project of this size might easily take five years, even if the yard already had a shed big enough for the purpose. And this was a highly unusual project. Design was accelerated too: the complex interior was penned in six months, when they would have liked a year; and the exterior in just one month, when it might more comfortably have taken six.

Knowing that makes Aviva ’s elegant profile even more impressive. “There was a lot of work to [visually] break up the mass, using facets,” says Langton. “We also tried to keep the lines long, so the sheer line is very long and jumps up forward with a clean line.”

They also minimised the details that act as size references, to disguise the scale. Rub rails are eliminated, stanchions replaced with glass, crew quarters windows are grouped to create long lines of glazing and even the anchor pocket has been elongated and disguised, lest a little square of gleaming stainless gives the game away.

Some upright elements of the silver superstructure were also picked out in a darker shade. “They disappear a bit, which makes the slope of the boat more raked,” says Langton.

The long bow adds to the effect, but the aesthetic is the beneficiary of a practical decision: this boat will roam far and the long covered bow makes it likely to survive the kind of rogue waves that have battered a few cruise ships over the years.

“I talked to the captain of the QE2 who went through a wave, and what happens is all the wheelhouse windows smash, they had four foot of water, you then lose all your instruments and they had no ability to control the boat, communicate or navigate,” says Silverton.

To strengthen Aviva he added extra watertight doors and armoured the two forward VIP cabins and superyacht wheelhouse so that they could be sealed off to save the boat. “You can lose everything on the bridge and you can still navigate and control the boat from the engine room,” he says.

Apart from safety, the main aim of the naval architecture was stability. Before the build of Lewis’s second Aviva , Silverton had been frustrated by a lack of data on how rolling motion affects passengers, so he put 36 people in a motion simulator for three days.

“There’s two things: one is the period of roll and the second is the way it rolls,” he says. “The typical roll period of the 62 metre would be around 7.5-7.8 seconds, one of two roll periods people were particularly upset by. And we found that if it was a soft stop and then a soft movement away again, people were much more tolerant of it.”

The design of the second boat addressed those concerns and the new Aviva ’s hull — patent pending — is an evolution of that. It has a nipped in “waist” which bulges back out below the waterline. This both slows and softens the roll. Her near-vertical bow and narrow sailing boat-like stern (which helps reduce pitching) also aid efficiency.

So much so that they were able to go down two engine sizes from the original spec (she has two MTU 16V4000 M73Ls, which put out 2,880kW each) and still hit 20.3 knots in sea trials. Silverton notes that she runs most comfortably at a zippy 16.5 knots, despite an official cruising speed of 14 knots.

Supplementary electric motors offer smooth manoeuvring and silent 11 knot running at night, while extra solidity comes from MAGLift stabilisers aft and one pair of fin stabilisers forward.

But it is the padel tennis court that lies literally and metaphorically at the heart of this project. This high intensity squash-tennis hybrid is a daily routine for Lewis and his explorations with his previous yachts had been limited to destinations with courts.

“The original idea I had was to put it on the aft end main deck and have folding panels and sliding walls,” says Langton. “It never even entered my head to put it inside, because it’s so big.”

Not only would putting the court at the back have made for a profile that Langton likens to a pick-up truck, but Silverton notes that the court would not have been playable at main-deck level. “You’re way above the roll centre, so it’s moving sideways – humans can’t cope with sideways movement of the ground,” says Silverton. “So we looked at putting it as low down as possible.”

Achieving such a large area in that position was an engineering feat but the results are spectacular. Its dimensions short-circuit spatial understanding — it seems impossible that this towering 6.65 metre tall space could be accommodated in Aviva ’s profile.

But it is, and it functions beautifully. “We’re running along at 19 knots, white horses everywhere, and they’re downstairs playing padel having no idea that there’s any sea at all,” says Silverton.

This sort of intelligent ambition has transformed every space on board into something special. “The owner has been in many businesses – hospitality, hotels – so he really understands how spaces work,” says Silverton.

Apart from strategically placed pantries and concealed crew entrances, there are three massive dumb waiters, a lower deck entrance for loading supplies, a dedicated crew galley and much more. The final GA was version 57.

On the more glamorous side of this equation, the upper saloon is a highly functional family room that’s comfortable, bright and airy. The sofas are extra squashy, and there’s a games table as well as a sculptural Bogányi piano.

The head height is 2.6 metres and nine metres of openable full-height windows run along each side of the room – with balconies. Rather than the usual glass, doors to the aft deck are leather clad, making the room feel more private. In fine weather, with those doors open, glass panels slide out to surround the aft deck dining area, creating one long, protected inside/outside space.

Designing such a huge area without pillars for support was a challenge and the corners are, says Hering, packed with extra structure. “Also, in the ceiling, all the girders are very thick because the unsupported length is just enormous.”

In contrast to this space, the main saloon below is a glamorous introduction to Aviva , up the sweeping superyacht staircase from the swim platform and inside to take in starry pieces from the owner’s art collection from a round of sunken seating. Adding a dash of intrigue there’s a secret cinema forward of the space, behind a hidden door.

The master suite is in the nose of the main deck rather than higher up, for extra stability. It stretches from a full-beam cabin to a massive bathroom centred with a monolithic Corian bathtub (there’s a spa just aft of the cabin for even more serious pampering), to a wardrobe-cum-dressing room of spectacular scale and glamour, inspired by Chanel boutiques.

But while some spaces are grand in scale, others are decidedly intimate. Rather than a dining saloon, there are two art-filled “bistros” on board for cosy meals, and many other small dining areas elsewhere. The owner’s bridge deck office is also modestly proportioned, with a conference room next door for larger meetings.

In terms of interior style, the owner’s brief was for something revolutionary. “He didn’t want anything to be symmetrical, it had to be curvy or organic,” says Langton. “He wanted it to be very different. No wood, nothing traditional.”

From the furniture and fittings to walls and overheads, there is barely a straight line on this boat. That was no mean feat for Abeking & Rasmussen’s outfitter Rodiek, which, as well as building most of the yacht’s bespoke furniture in organic forms, produced undulating wall panels from high density CNC-milled foam. “Five or ten years ago this was only used to do models or moulds for the car industry. It is very expensive,” says Langton.

It is, however, perfect for creating curves. “For this boat we decided to use a lot of new materials, even for the base materials, because of the big curved ceiling spaces,” says Hilmar Westermeyer, COO of Rodiek, who had to buy a new CNC milling machine for the project. Rodiek works only for Abeking & Rasmussen (and vice versa) in a symbiotic relationship.

In terms of the interior styling, the ethos was love it or lose it — at least visually. “This door disappears when it is closed and becomes part of the wall,” says Langton in one of the forward VIPs, swinging it to the latch, where its undulations perfectly meet those on the wall. “You either make a door a feature, make it beautiful, or you make it disappear.” The same goes for handles: those on wardrobes are invisible, but ones used on cabin doors are gnarled and textural, incorporated into a cracked bronze plate “like desert clay”.

“Because we’ve not used any wood, basically the whole interior is a mixture of leather and lacquer, it’s really almost tailored.” Take the artfully stitched cream leather of window frames, or the iridescent shot silk that runs down the broad main deck corridor, printed with a bespoke cartographical motif.

A neutral palette is enriched with precious materials: sunset-toned onyx, vanilla marble, shagreen, shimmering leathers. There are glossy panels dripping with resin and acrylic by Alex Turco in the lobby, and panels of velvet mottled with gold, by Sabina Fay Braxton, above guest beds. Staircases are works of art; one with floating treads like turbine blades, another a leather and glass form that spirals up from the floor.

This interior — where, as Langton puts it, almost every surface has “richness and form” – melts into the deck spaces via visual tricks: organic patterns in the Esthec decking that continue in the interior carpets; or the bar that is half in the main saloon and half on the aft deck, a mirror image joining the two spaces.

The superyacht sundeck is the exterior equivalent of the upper saloon — a comfortable family lounge. This massive space, with sunshine yellow upholstery, runs from a shaded central area for dining, with a projector for movie nights, to an aft sunbathing area with sunpads (with a wedge shape to sit as well as lie) and another forward around a spa pool, set low against a glass windbreak for spectacular views.

This forward end is a cosy space like so many on board. It’s that understanding of usable, enjoyable spaces, of human scale, human comfort and passions that makes Aviva a truly grand design. Those 98 metres just help pack it all on board.

First published in the April 2018 edition of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.

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Premier League

Inside Tottenham owner Joe Lewis' £113m superyacht: Luxurious private haven features a full-sized tennis court, a floating office, PRICELESS art work and can carry 35 crew members... as billionaire is indicted in the US

Tottenham owner Joe Lewis has been indicted in the US for insider trading
The billionaire spends most of the year on board his luxurious superyacht, Aviva
His vessel, worth £113million, holds a large tennis court and numerous amenities

By Daniel Davis For Mailonline

Published: 11:15 EDT, 26 July 2023 | Updated: 13:57 EDT, 26 July 2023

View comments

Tottenham owner Joe Lewis is seldom seen at Spurs matches, instead preferring to enjoy a life of luxury floating through the Caribbean on his luxury yacht.

Lewis, a self-made billionaire from the East End of London, is a reclusive businessman who resides primarily in the Bahamas aboard his £113m boat, Aviva.

According to the Forbes Rich List, he holds an estimated fortune of £4.3bn, allowing him to make full use of his riches and invest in a number of flashy amenities.

One of these, his superyacht, is believed to be his home for most of the year and has been referred to as his private office.

When he is not working, Lewis is able to use a full-sized tennis court below decks, as well as a pool, gym and a spacious sundeck.

Yesterday, however, the reclusive 86-year-old was thrust into the spotlight in the US after being indicted for 'brazen' insider trading . Federal prosecutors have alleged that he had passed on inside information 'to compensate employees'.

Joe Lewis' incredible £113million superyacht is one of his most treasured possessions

The incredible yacht features ultra-modern design and sleek interiors throughout

The rear view of the boat displays its enormity spread over five above-water floors

There are workout facilities on board and also a tennis court on the inside

Tottenham's British billionaire owner Lewis has been indicted in the United States

Lewis, founder of investment firm The Tavistock Group, faces more than a dozen charges, though his lawyers have said they plan to defend him 'vigorously' and he has handed himself in to the authorities in Manhatten.

The next steps of the unfolding legal bombshell are uncertain, but at least for now, Lewis or his associates are expected to continue making use of his seaworthy haven.

Aviva, crafted by Abeking and Rasmussen and designed by Reymond Langton, was built in 2007 and is 323ft in size. It can host up to 16 people and 35 crew members, and in sea trials reached an impressive 20 knots (23mph).

The standout feature is the state-of-the-art tennis court, located in the lower deck. The room is 20 metres long and the yacht was effectively designed around it.

Elsewhere, the owner's suite on the upper deck features an office, private lounge and a large en-suite bathroom. The remaining guest cabins, made up of two VIP suites and five more double cabins, are also completed with en suite facilities.

Lewis' yacht also contains a beach club, a gym, a swimming pool and a spa, with an elevator making for easy access to each of the decks.

Furthermore, there is thought to be a 'secret' cinema on board and tucked out of sight, as well as a piano and large salon with sprawling windows and balconies.

The behemoth serves effectively as a floating office for the 86-year-old Lewis

The panoramic view from the control room offers the captain a full range of vision

Lewis is seen here in his younger years while moored at Fife in Scotland

There is intense security on board and with good reason, with plenty of art to protect

The boat carries part of Lewis' sizeable art collection, made of genuine originals, too.

It is understood to have a priceless work by British painter Francis Bacon on a wall on its lower deck. And his collection also includes works by Degas, Lucian Freud, Klimt, Modigliani, Matisse and Picasso.

Aviva is made from steel and an aluminium superstructure, with the yacht powered by twin diesel-electric engines with an output of 3,862 horsepower.

Once spotted moored on the Thames, Aviva has been refitted twice since launch.

In May 2013, Spurs' players embarked on a trip to the Bahamas and were welcomed on board the sleek vessel, leaving Michael Dawson, their former captain, stunned.

'I had never met him before, so it was nice to go over there and a great experience,' Dawson said, reflecting on his experience on Aviva.

'What a really nice guy. And that yacht is unreal! But he's just a normal guy.

'You could chat to him about anything. He tunes into all the games, he loves it.

'We just sat there chatting. He made us feel so welcome over there. It was relaxed. A lot of team-bonding together.'

On Lewis' indictment, a statement from Tottenham read: 'This is a legal matter unconnected with the club and as such we have no comment.'

In a dramatic statement delivered by video, US Attorney Damian Williams said: 'My office, the Southern District of New York has indicted Joe Lewis, the British billionaire, for orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme.

Aviva was crafted by Abeking and Rasmussen and designed by Reymond Langton

Tottenham players have been on board previously when Lewis decides to entertain

Aviva was effectively built around the state of the art tennis court on board

There are myriad options for anyone on board to relax, including by the rear of the yacht

There is a beach club, swimming pool and spa on board the Aviva, worth more than £113m

The yacht is vast and can reach speeds of up to 23mph in full flight if required

'We allege that for years Joe Lewis abused his access to corporate boardrooms and repeatedly provided inside information to his romantic partners, his personal assistants, his private pilots and his friends.

'Those folks then traded on that inside information and made millions of dollars on the stock market because - thanks to Lewis - those bets were a sure thing.'

Williams then added: 'Now, none of this was necessary. Joe Lewis is a wealthy man. But as we allege he used inside information as a way to compensate his employees or shower gifts on his friends and lovers. It is classic corporate corruption.

'It's cheating and it's against the law. That's why Joe Lewis has been indicted and will face justice here in the Southern District of New York.'

Share or comment on this article: Inside Tottenham owner Joe Lewis' £113m superyacht: Luxurious private haven features a full-sized tennis court, a floating office, PRICELESS art work and can carry 35 crew members... as billionaire is indicted in the US

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Who is Joe Lewis? The secretive billionaire Tottenham owner charged with insider trading

Friends with tiger woods, owner of a 98m super yacht and boasting one of the most expensive art collections in the world – now joe lewis is facing allegations of ‘corruption’ in new york, article bookmarked.

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Tottenham owner Joe Lewis, left, pictured with club chairman Daniel Levy

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Joe Lewis, the billionaire owner of Tottenham Hotspur , has been indicted in the US on charges of insider trading .

Lewis has been accused of “abusing his access to corporate boardrooms” to provide information to lovers, friends and even his private pilots.

Lewis has denied the charges. In a statement, his lawyers said they would “vigorously fight” to clear his name.

Who is Joe Lewis and how did he make his money?

Lewis made his fortune primarily in foreign exchange and investment. He is ranked 39th among the UK’s wealthiest people, according to the Sunday Times Rich List , with a net worth of £5bn.

Born in the East End of London in 1937, Lewis left school at 15 to work for his father’s catering company. He took over and rapidly expanded the business into a series of themed restaurants aimed at tourists, before selling in 1979, giving him more money to invest in his new venture, currency trading. Lewis gave Robert Earl, who later founded Hard Rock and Planet Hollywood, his first job.

Billionaire and Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis indicted in US for ‘brazen insider trading’

He was ferociously successful at working the currency markets during the 1980s and 1990s, notably betting that Britain would be forced to exit the European Monetary System, which it did in September 1992 amid the ‘Black Wednesday’ financial crisis.

He earned the nickname ‘The Boxer,’ a reference both to his power in the investment ring and his legendary almost namesake, Joe Louis. But he endured bruising defeats too, and lost $1bn – then a third of his fortune – in a single day when the American bank Bear Stearns collapsed at the start of the 2008 financial crisis. His $1.2bn stake was reduced to $22m in a matter of hours.

Lewis owns the Tavistock Group, first set up in 1975 and now one of the most renowned and powerful private equity organisations in the world. He founded the business in the Bahamas to escape UK tax laws. Along with his Bahamian mansion, Lewis owns a ranch in Argentina (which has caused conflict with local residents), multiple homes in Florida and more property across the world.

The 86-year-old is married to his long-term secretary Jane, and has two children by his first wife, Esther Browne. His son Charles lives in Argentina and is largely disconnected from the family business, but his daughter Vivienne is heavily involved.

She serves on Tavistock’s board of directors and is president of the prestigious Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Florida, which Lewis owns. He has a waterfront mansion on the 600-acre Isleworth property, which is surrounded by heavy security. Lewis almost never makes public statements or conducts media interviews.

Lewis loves golf and counts Tiger Woods not only as a close friend and neighbour but also a business partner. Together they embarked on a 600-acre luxury resort called Albany on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, alongside fellow golfer Ernie Els and the singer Justin Timberlake. Albany features a mega-yacht marina, lavish villas and a championship golf course which hosts Tiger Woods’ invitational tournament, the Hero World Challenge.

What has Lewis spent his fortune on?

Lewis has a diverse portfolio of investments all over the world, including luxury resorts in the Americas, property in Bulgaria and even an Australian agriculture company. The development arm of Tavistock is building a 17 square-mile community at Lake Nona near Orlando, Florida, where Disney is to move its headquarters.

He owns a superyacht called Aviva, which is 98m long and took three years to build. Its most striking feature is an indoor paddle tennis court, Lewis’s daily activity, at the heart of the boat. His wardrobe is particularly decadent, described by designer Andrew Langton as “bigger than my house in France.”

Lewis owns one of the most expensive private art collections in the world, including original works by Picasso and Matisse, many of which are aboard Aviva.

Through Tavistock, via the ENIC Group, Lewis also owns Tottenham Hotspur. He bought 29.9% of Tottenham in 1991, and increased his stake to a majority holding in February 2001, buying out most of Lord Sugar’s shares.

Despite appearing to have little interest in football, rarely showing up at Tottenham’s training ground or matches, Lewis has invested in a number of clubs including Rangers – supposedly encouraged by his former neighbour in the Bahamas, Sean Connery – and Slavia Prague.

After 21 years in charge of Tottenham, Lewis is the Premier League’s longest-serving owner. The club have since moved into a world-leading stadium and reached the Champions League final in 2019, but they have won only one trophy during Lewis’s tenure and his man in charge – Spurs chairman Daniel Levy – is under increasing pressure to deliver results on the pitch.

In October 2022, Lewis gave majority control of ENIC, and thus majority control of Tottenham, to a family discretionary trust of which the listed benficiaries are members of his family. The trust is managed by two independent trustees. The benficiaries of a discretionary trust have no legal entitlement to the assets.

What has he been charged with?

Lewis has been indicted in New York for “orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme”.

Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a video released by his office: “We allege that for years Joe Lewis abused his access to corporate boardrooms and repeatedly provided inside information to his romantic partners, his personal assistants, his private pilots and his friends.

“Those folks then traded on that inside information and made millions of dollars in the stock market, because thanks to Lewis those bets were a sure thing.”

Williams described Lewis’s behaviour as “classic corporate corruption.”

He said: “Now, none of this was necessary. Joe Lewis is a wealthy man. But as we allege, he used inside information as a way to compensate his employees or to shower gifts on his friends and lovers... It’s cheating, and it’s against the law. Laws that apply to everyone, no matter who you are. That’s why Joe Lewis has been indicted and will face justice here in the Southern District of New York.”

A Tottenham club spokesperson said: “This is a legal matter unconnected with the club and as such we have no comment.”

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Take a look at Joe Lewis’s stunning $250 million superyacht, Aviva, which the Tottenham owner used to bail himself out of trouble. The billionaire loved padel tennis so much that he actually built this 279 feet long vessel around a padel tennis court.

In spite of being worth $87 billion the humble founder of Zara has a superyacht that is even smaller than the support vessel of Jeff Bezos’ Koru megayacht. His 220-footer is spread across three decks and is a masterclass in contemporary simplicity.

Ever wondered how much it costs to fuel a $600 million superyacht? Hint – For that money, you can actually get an apartment in Manhattan and a Tesla Model S.

Longer than three Olympic-sized swimming pools – This megayacht concept is more like a floating city in itself – It has two movable helipads, a large garden, and a garage that can store 6 supercars.

Seized by a Swiss bank from a Saudi prince, the contents from the lavish 269 feet long Sarafsa superyacht have been auctioned in a fire sale. Everything from antique clocks to a grand piano to plush bathrobes was been sold at throwaway prices.

Moored next to massive oil tankers, Jeff Bezos’ $500 million Koru superyacht is being guarded round the clock by a sheriff’s boat at the Fort Lauderdale seaport. The VIP security will offer relief to Bezos after eco-activists spray painted Walmart heiress Nancy Walton’s superyacht.

Topaz is one of the largest and most expensive superyacht ever to be built

This UAE billionaire sheiks’ $450 million megayacht is so luxurious that eco-warrior Leonardo Di Caprio borrowed it twice. The Wolf of Wall Street star threw such a wild party that guests and crew were ‘sworn to secrecy’ before the party even started.

The party continues on the Koru megayacht – After Bill Gates and Oprah, Jeff Bezos, and his fiancee Lauren Sanchez invite Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, and Usher to their floating palace to enjoy the sun-kissed Mediterranean.

This is the first billionaire yacht owner to renounce his Russian citizenship

Former Tottenham owner Joe Lewis ‘humiliated’ and ‘ashamed’ after ‘brazen insider-trading scheme’

Inside the U.S. District courthouse off Pearl Street in Manhattan, courtroom 20C was filled to the brim on Thursday. More than 50 people had gathered by 3 p.m. local time to learn the fate of one man: 87-year-old British billionaire, Joe Lewis .

The once-powerful Lewis, now convicted of a “brazen insider-trading scheme” and barred from returning to the U.S., was sat at a table between his attorneys with a black patch over his right eye, and his small frame sinking into his chair. When Lewis entered the room, he clung to a man who held him steady. That same man had shielded Lewis from photos entering the courthouse, a sharp contrast to the man said to be of “impeccable integrity and prodigious accomplishment” who strode away wearing aviator sunglasses after initially denying the charges against him just 253 days earlier.

In the eight months since, Lewis’ legal team argued his health has sharply declined.

Ultimately, this was the deciding factor in the court’s decision to spare Lewis prison time after he passed on confidential information on publicly-traded companies to his romantic partners, employees and friends. Instead, U.S. District Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke ordered him to three years’ probation and a $5million (£3.96m) fine. He planned to return to London on Thursday night to have surgery on his right eye as soon as possible, according to his attorney.

“You have before you a frail 87-year-old man with significant health challenges, whose conditions have only deteriorated since the indictment,” Lewis’ attorney, David M Zornow said.

In explaining her sentencing, Clarke said: “It is clear to me that Mr. Lewis’ life would be at serious risk if he were to be incarcerated.”

Lewis also briefly addressed the court. When he struggled to stand, the judge advised him he could address the court while seated.

“Your honor, I am here today because I made a terrible mistake,” Lewis said. “I broke the law. I’m ashamed. I’m sorry and I hold myself accountable.”

Attorneys stressed in court filings that Lewis “has been humiliated in the worldwide media, which has covered this case extensively” because of his ties to Tottenham Hotspur.

Lewis founded the company, ENIC, which owns 86.58 per cent of Tottenham and was the club’s owner from 2001 until he ceded “significant control” in October 2022, according to documents filed at the U.K.’s business registry, Companies House. Tottenham declined to comment on Thursday night.

Explained: Joe Lewis' insider trading sentence and what it means for Tottenham

Most of Lewis’ wealth comes from Tavistock Group, an investment organization he owns and founded. According to court filings, Tavistock’s portfolio includes Tottenham; communities and resort properties in Florida, the Bahamas and Jamaica; restaurant groups; and ownership interests in various private investment funds. He also has homes in several countries, his $250million yacht, a $90million aircraft, and an art collection worth $100million.

The fine will make little impact to a man worth about $6.2 billion, who is considered one of the 500 richest people in the world, although his company Broad Bay Ltd also pleaded guilty in January to participation in securities fraud and will pay $50million in financial penalties. But Lewis’ tip-offs were never about increasing his own vast personal wealth.

“It is clear that Lewis believed he was above the law, that he had achieved a level of wealth and stature that relieved him from having to operate by the same rules that apply to everyday investors,” wrote Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in the court filing.

Prosecutors said Lewis did not stand to benefit from the insider trading scheme he orchestrated, and financial gains were only realized by those with whom he shared confidential information. Their earnings “would have been trivial to him”, prosecutors said.

“The defendant did not need to do this. He has billions of dollars,” U.S. Attorney Jason Richman said in court. “He chose to do this.”

The scheme was as elaborate as it was simple. Prosecutors said in court filings that Lewis “engaged in multiple instances of insider trading, over multiple years, on multiple continents, with multiple people”. Prosecutors began outlining his missteps in 2019.

Lewis owns about 80 per cent of the investment fund Boxer Capital, which makes investments in publicly-traded life science companies, and the billionaire insisted he received updates on investments made by the company and updates on clinical trials by certain companies he invested in. This is where the insider trading scheme started to brew.

In early 2019, when a monsoon caused significant flooding in Queensland, Australia, the Australian Agricultural Company was impacted, which Lewis had a majority stake in. Lewis later learned the damage would have a negative impact on the company’s stock, so he provided this confidential information to his personal pilots who also had invested in the company because they stood to lose money.

This type of exchange happened several times, with different companies and at the benefit of different people, according to prosecutors.

It happened again in 2019 with Solid Biosciences, a biotechnology company. Through Boxer, Lewis was a significant shareholder in the company and learned of a pending agreement with an investment bank, as well as a planned clinical trial. While visiting South Korea with his then-girlfriend, Lewis tipped her off to purchase stock. She then used all her funds to buy $700,000 worth of stock in the business. The following day, when flying on Lewis’ private plane, he recommended his pilots do the same.

These tips found their way to several of Lewis’ personal assistants and at least three other friends, including one he was romantically involved with and another he played poker with in Argentina, prosecutors said. In one instance, Lewis even loaned his pilots $500,000 each to use for insider trading, which they later returned to him.

“He was the single source of the misappropriated inside information, and he was the sole tipper at the heart of this vast network,” prosecutors said in court filings. “Put another way: without Lewis, no one else would have traded on insider information.”

Despite the gravity of Lewis’s insider trading, prosecutors said they, like the court, struggled with determining an appropriate sentence for an 87-year-old in failing health. In addressing the judge, Richman said the government “was not seeking, specifically, incarceration”.

Six doctors submitted letters to the judge in pre-sentencing submissions regarding Lewis’ health. Their messages were redacted from the public record for privacy, but attorneys for Lewis did say the businessman “is experiencing very significant problems with his right eye and needs surgery”. That surgery would happen with his doctor in London, Zornow stressed, which is why “Mr. Lewis is anxious to depart the U.S.”

Lewis also received leniency because he was cooperative with investigators from the beginning, the court said, and because he voluntarily surrendered in the United States upon being indicted, rather than go through extradition in the U.K., a process that could have taken years.

When Lewis learned of his indictment, he immediately travelled to New York to face the charges, his attorneys said. He was then released on a $300million bail, secured against his 98-metre superyacht and private aircraft, and remained in Florida.

Now that Lewis is on probation, his aircraft will be returned so he can self-deport. His attorneys said he planned to leave the U.S. by Thursday night. His yacht, the Aviva, remains held until fines are paid.

Given Lewis’ wealth, paying a fine is a low concern, with attorneys saying the billionaire had funds on standby with a lawyer in the Bahamas to ensure his dues with the court are paid as quickly as possible.

Though Lewis will not be returning to Clarke’s courtroom, this is where his pilots will be in coming months to face their consequences of this vast, alleged scheme.

When Lewis exited the courthouse on 500 Pearl Street, he again did so while being shielded from cameras, and even questions. He quietly entered a black car and slipped away, out of Manhattan and out of the U.S.

(Top photo: Getty Images; design: Sam Richardson)

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Inside Tottenham owner Joe ‘The Boxer’ Lewis’ £5bn fortune from yacht to Picassos as he faces insider trading charges

Katie Davis
Published : 18:15, 26 Jul 2023
Updated : 15:38, 28 Jul 2023

More on Joe Lewis

Spurs billionaire Joe Lewis surrenders to US cops over 'brazen insider trading'

Spurs billionaire Joe Lewis lives on £195m yacht and is pals with Tiger Woods

One of the organisation's restaurants included a fancy dress-themed eatery in London called the Northumberland Grand, while Lewis also gave Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock founder Robert Earl his first job.

Lewis managed 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.

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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.

Lewis, who was born in London, spends most of his days in the Bahamas as a tax exile.

He set to Tavistock Group there in a bid to escape UK tax laws.

And his superyacht worth £190million , which can house up to 16 guests, is fully equipped for the Caribbean lifestyle.

Aviva's exterior relaxation area features a circular set of lounging pads on the sun deck, as well as smaller lounging pads towards the yacht's bridge.

A cool swimming platform can also open up into the sea, which means you can have your own beach area with Aviva's tenders coming out of side doors.

It even has a speedboat and jet skis on board, and measures up as the 46th longest yacht in the world with a full-size indoor tennis court - the first ever installed on a yacht.

German-built Aviva took three years to complete, and can reach a top speed of 20 knots.

It can also be used to entertain, just as it was when he invited the Spurs team on board in 2013 during their tour of the Bahamas.

But it's not just a place for relaxing, as Lewis also uses it as a floating office.

He previously said: "Communication and information are critical to me.

"To be effective, I need reliable phones and internet, these have improved much over the past few years, but, it is too expensive, too slow and not consistently reliable.

"Aviva is more than an office; it is also my home for much of the year. So for me, it is relaxing working from home, wherever Aviva may be in the world."

Aviva is also home to much of Lewis' vast private art collections - one of the most expensive in the world.

It features original works by celebrated artists Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Francis Bacon, as well as sculptures by Moore, Degas and Botero.

His collection is reported to be worth a staggering $1billion (£777million).

Lewis pictured on his yacht Aviva in the Bahamas

Last year, 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.

On his superyacht, Lewis has Francis Bacon’s “Triptych 1974 - 1977” displayed in golden frames - understood to be worth around £70million.

Meanwhile, Lewis also sold off his stunning Windermere mansion in 2020.

Sitting in a sprawling six-acre complex, the Georgian estate boasts views of Lake Bessie.

It has a private driveway adorned with lush plants and trees, and giving the home and secluded vibe.

The mansion itself is filled with ornate details - and includes a large stone patio with a pool in the middle.

In the study, a gold chandelier hangs from ceiling while a fireplace brings the room together.

Lewis also bought a huge stake in Tottenham Hotspur back in 2001.

His family members are part of a trust that owns 70 per cent of ENIC – the company that owns 86.5 per cent of Spurs.

The majority stake in the club , adding up to 86.58 per cent of the total shareholding, is owned by ENIC Sports Inc, registered in the Bahamas.

Until October, Lewis held 70.12 per cent of the ENIC stake , although the investment was through the Lewis Family Trusts.

But on October 5 2022, Lewis ceased to be a “person of significant control” and no longer has an active role.

His stake was split between two associates, Miami born Bryan Glinton, a Bahamas-based longstanding legal adviser to Lewis’ Tavistock group, and British-born asset manager Katie Booth.

Under the formal transfer of shares, the pair now have the powers previously held by Lewis including the “right to appoint and remove directors with control over the trustees of a trust”.

The remaining 29.88 per cent of the ENIC stake is held by Daniel Levy “and certain members of his family”, again, via a discretionary trust.

That leaves 13.42 per cent owned by “small shareholders” - fans rather than companies.

It comes as Lewis surrendered to the US authorities in Manhattan on Wednesday.

US Attorney Damian Williams has accused the Spurs chief of "classic corporate corruption" by orchestrating a "brazen" insider trading scheme.

He claims the British billionaire shared confidential information with his romantic partners, personal assistants, private pilots and pals.

The tips enabled Lewis' associates to reap millions of dollars in profit, prosecutors said.

Mr Williams said: "Now, none of this was necessary. Joe Lewis is a wealthy man.

"But as we allege, he used inside information as a way to compensate his employees or to shower gifts on his friends and lovers.

"That's classic corporate corruption. It's cheating, and it's against the law. Laws that apply to everyone, no matter who you are.

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"That's why Joe Lewis has been indicted and will face justice here in the Southern District of New York."

But Lewis' lawyer David Zornow said prosecutors "made an egregious error" in charging him and said his client had come to the US voluntarily to defend himself against the charges.

Lewis also uses the yacht as a floating office

Tottenham Hotspur
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Dear Deidre

Tottenham billionaire Joe Lewis lives on a £195m yacht, owns £1bn of fine art and is best mates with golfer Tiger Woods

Published : 21:32, 4 Apr 2024
Updated : 21:38, 4 Apr 2024
Published : Invalid Date,

JOE LEWIS was the Tottenham owner very rarely seen.

And he will surely keep an even lower profile after being sentenced for insider trading and conspiracy charges.

Billionaire Joe Lewis is the very private former owner of Tottenham Hotspur

The East End-born self-made billionaire rarely visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during his tenure, officially passing over control to his family in 2022 .

Instead and somewhat unsurprisingly, he preferred life on a superyacht in the Caribbean to trips to North London.

Residing mostly in the Bahamas on his £195million boat called Aviva III , he also has a home next door to Sean Connery's former estate and is friends with Tiger Woods .

Over the years, he launched the careers of Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock founder Robert Earl and 70s pop sensations The Nolans.

And according to the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List, he has an estimated fortune of a whopping £5.1billion.

But now the money-man is hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons following his New York court sentencing.

Lewis pleaded guilty in January after tipping off his girlfriend, private pilots and family and friends in his inner circle.

Those tips enabled Lewis' associates to reap millions of dollars in profit, prosecutors said.

However, he avoided jail time for his crimes as a federal judge agreed to sentence him to a $5m (£4m) fine and three years' probation.

Let SunSport take you through the world of the man nicknamed "The Boxer" because of his sporting namesake.

Who is Joe Lewis?

Joe is true cockney who was born within the sound of the St. Mary-le-Bow church bells in 1937. He is thought to have been raised in a flat above the Roman Arms pub in East London.

Roman Road in Bow, East London, where Lewis was reportedly raised

He left school at 15 to work in his family's cafe as a waiter, earning £6 a week.

He later established more businesses in London's West End under the name Tavistock Banqueting.

Joe opened restaurants including the Northumberland Grand, which was the first fancy dress-themed eaterie in London aimed at tourists.

From there he developed the Beefeater, the Cockney, the Caledonian and the Hanover Grand.

He managed his first super club called The Talk of the Town in the 60s, where the likes of Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and Tom Jones performed.

At the Hanover Grand, Joe granted The Nolans their first-ever live show and he gave Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock founder Robert Earl his first job.

The Talk of the Town was London's super club of the 60s

Joe even delved into the world of tourist shops, selling souvenirs and laying on bus tours of London for foreigners and dropping them off at his restaurants.

He sold the business in 1979 for an incredible £30m and moved to the Bahamas as a tax exile.

How he turned his millions to billions...

After moving to Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, Joe entered the world of currency trading.

It's there he made tens of millions, gambling on stock, as he looked to continue accumulating his massive wealth.

And it was in September 1992 when he became a billionaire, thanks in part to one shrewd investment on a day called Black Wednesday.

Joe teamed up with investor George Soros believing the pound was overvalued and would collapse as Britain attempted to align it with other Euro countries.

He bet on the pound crashing out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism and as it did he became a billionaire overnight.

Joe repeated the trick many years later betting against the Mexican peso and landed himself even more dough.

After selling his business Joe Lewis moved to the Bahamas

He lives on one of the most luxurious boats in the world...

Well, for most months of the year... and it's not just any old boat.

The Aviva III, built in 2007, is Joe's mobile private office and it's 223ft in size with an estimated value of £195m.

It was crafted by German builders Abeking and Rasmussen and designed by Reymond Langton.

The large yacht can host up to 16 people and in sea trials reached up to 20 knots (23mph).

Joe is a keen sportsman, with the ship boasting a full-sized tennis court.

Joe Lewis owns the Aviva III which is worth £112m

In May 2013, Spurs went on a trip to the Bahamas and were welcomed on board the vessel by host Joe.

Michael Dawson, who was the club captain at the time, said: "I had never met him before, so it was nice to go over there and a great experience.

“What a really nice guy. And that yacht is unreal! But he’s just a normal guy.

"You could chat to him about anything. He tunes into all the games, he loves it.

"We just sat there chatting. He made us feel so welcome over there. It was relaxed. A lot of team bonding together.

"It helps to be able to put a face to the person investing so much in this club he wants to be successful.

"He’s always watching. He knows what goes on. He would remember every game, every little thing."

Joe Lewis welcomed Spurs players onboard his boat in 2013

Joe has friends in high places...

Of course, when you're as wealthy as Joe you're going to attract the creme de la creme of society.

His best mate is Tiger Woods, who has called Joe "my business mentor" in the past.

Each year, when he wasn't injured, Tiger took part in Joe's Tavistock Cup competition in Florida.

It was held on two of Joe's developments in Orlando called the Isleworth and Lake Nona.

Tiger Woods has called Joe Lewis "my business mentor"

Incidentally, when Tiger Woods had his infamous 2009 low-speed car accident it was at Joe's Isleworth complex, where the golfer has a home.

Joe, who also owns property in Argentina and Bulgaria, boasts Ernie Els as another pal, and the pair are said to regularly dine together.

Being mates with golfers gives you the hint that Joe is a keen golfer himself.

He is believed to play off a 14 handicap and has practised with Woods and Els in the past.

Joe Lewis and Ernie Els often have dinner together

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He has an epic art collection....

When you're a wealthy man, you need hobbies aside from golf and relaxing on yachts.

That's why Joe has an art collection that's the envy of every Premier League owner.

Said to be worth around £1bn, he owns works by post-expressionists Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, and Miros.

However, in 2008 Joe made headline news, at least in the art world, with one extravagant purchase.

The businessman splashed £26.3million on Francis Bacon's Triptych 1974-1977 painting.

And you'd never guess where he keeps all his art? Yeah, that's right.. the paintings adorn the walls of his mega yacht.

Joe Lewis spent £26.3 million on Francis Bacon painting Triptych 1974-1977

And now for something personal...

Joe has been married twice, his first wife was Esther Browne who he met at his greasy spoon.

She now lives in Ireland.

They had two children, Vivienne and Charlie, before they divorced.

Joe then married his former assistant Jane, however they don't have any kids.

But before you go thinking life has been all rosy for Joe, he has been touched by loss.

He lost his dad to cancer, so he wanted to give something back.

Joe set up a foundation to help fund research, and the charity is run by daughter Vivienne.

Joe Lewis has been called a regular guy by anyone who meets him

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Tottenham Hotspur

British billionaire Joe Lewis gets no prison time at sentencing for insider trading

N EW YORK (AP) — British billionaire Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns the Tottenham Hotspur soccer club, will not spend any time in prison after pleading guilty to insider trading and conspiracy charges in New York, a federal judge said Thursday.

Judge G.L. Clarke cited Lewis' decision to promptly come to the United States to face charges and his failing health, along with a lifetime of good works, in ruling that Lewis will face three years on probation and a $5 million fine rather than time behind bars.

Lewis, 87, was wearing an eye patch and one of his hands shook steadily throughout the one-hour proceeding in a federal court in Manhattan. He has remained in the United States since last July.

Before he was sentenced, Lewis spoke briefly, saying he learned growing up in England during World War II how “precious” life is and decided to devote much of his life to finding a cure for “horrendous diseases.”

“Your honor, I’m here today because I made a terrible mistake. I’m ashamed,” he said.

Lewis said he hoped “to make amends and to rebuild the trust that I have squandered” for the remainder of his life.

U.S. sentencing guidelines had called for Lewis, a citizen of the United Kingdom and resident of the Bahamas, to serve 18 months to two years behind bars. Even prosecutors, though, agreed time behind bars was not necessary.

At his January plea, Lewis admitted that he agreed in 2019 to share secrets about publicly traded companies with several individuals. Prosecutors said afterward that his company, Broad Bay Limited, and Lewis would pay $50 million in financial penalties, the largest such penalty for insider trading in a decade.

His lawyer said Thursday that the money was in escrow and ready to be paid and plans were for him to leave the United States for the Bahamas on Thursday night.

Prosecutors wrote in their presentence submission that Lewis deserved leniency because he is older and “battles significant health issues” that would cause a term of imprisonment to be more difficult for him than others.

They cited his acceptance of responsibility that he demonstrated by voluntarily surrendering rather than forcing a drawn-out extradition battle, and said that he'd “otherwise lived a law-abiding life.”

The government also noted that Lewis is recognized as one of the 500 richest people in the world with approximately $6.2 billion as of February, including homes in several countries; a $250 million yacht; private planes valued at $90 million and an art collection worth $100 million.

When she announced the sentence, the judge said: “It is clear to me that Mr. Lewis’s life would be at serious risk if he were to be incarcerated.”

Defense attorneys said in their presentence submission that Lewis “is nearing the end of life in declining health."

They said Lewis was aware that his conviction meant he can't return to the United States to see his children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren, who all live in the U.S.

From the start, Lewis was no ordinary defendant. After his arrest less than a year ago, he had been free on $300 million bail after putting up a yacht and private plane as collateral.

In court papers, prosecutors said Lewis learned secrets about public companies after making large investments. They said that on at least four occasions, he tipped off his girlfriend, personal pilots, employees and friends, enabling them to profit from the secrets.

“This insider trading was not the result of aberrant, one-time conduct, but rather, a troubling pattern of misconduct over the course of several years,” they wrote.

Prosecutors said the insider activity might have resulted from “hubris, ego, a desire to make a financial gift without parting with his own money, an irrational form of greed, or some other reason.”

But, regardless, “it is clear that Lewis believed he was above the law — that he had achieved a level of wealth and stature that relieved him from having to operate by the same rules that apply to everyday investors,” prosecutors said.

As he left the courthouse, Lewis was surrounded by aides who blocked members of the media from seeing him as he walked a short distance to a waiting vehicle.

Joe Lewis arrives Manhattan Federal court for his sentencing, Thursday, April. 4, 2024, in New York. Lewis pleaded guilty in January to insider trading and conspiracy charges, saying his crimes had left him feeling embarrassed. Lewis’ family trust owns the Tottenham Hotspur soccer club. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)

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Inside Tottenham owner Joe ‘The Boxer’ Lewis’ £5bn fortune from yacht to Picassos as he faces insider trading charges

Katie Davis
Published : 13:15 ET, Jul 26 2023
Updated : 10:40 ET, Jul 28 2023

HAVING built up a fortune worth £5billion, it comes as little surprise Joe Lewis has a taste for the finer things in life.

But the Spurs chief, 86, has had to leave his floating palace in the Bahamas and head to the US to face allegations of orchestrating a "brazen" insider trading scheme.

Tottenham owner Joe Lewis is facing insider trading charges

Lewis forked out £22million in 2001 to buy a controlling stake in Tottenham Hotspur from Lord Sugar.

Overall, Lewis is worth $6.1billion (£4.7billion), according to Forbes magazine.

But the self-made billionaire has also found plenty else to splash the cash on over the years, having made his fortune largely through foreign exchange and investment.

After quitting school at the age of 15, he went to work for his dad's catering company.

Lewis managed 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.

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