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Joe Lewis (businessman)

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Joe Lewis
Born
Joseph Lewis

(1937-02-05) 5 February 1937 (age 87)
London, England
Occupation(s)Businessman, investor, philanthropist
Years active1958–present
Spouses
Esther Browne
​
(divorced)​
  • Jane Lewis
Children2

Joseph C. Lewis (born 5 February 1937) is a British businessman and investor who holds a number of assets mainly through his Tavistock Group investment portfolio. He was previously the majority owner of ENIC Group, which is also the majority owner of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, between 1991 until October 2022.[1] Majority ownership was passed to the Lewis Family Trust in October 2022.[2] The Trust is managed by two independent professional trustees on behalf of its beneficiaries. Lewis is not a beneficiary.[3]

According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2023, Lewis has a net worth of £5.096 billion, an increase of £811 million from 2022.[4]

Early life

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Lewis was born to a Jewish[5][6]family above a public house in Roman Road, Bow, London.[7] Lewis left school at 15 to help run his father's West End catering business, Tavistock Banqueting. When he took the reins, he quickly expanded it by selling luxury goods to American tourists, and also owned West End club the Hanover Grand, where he gave Robert Earl his first job.[7] He later sold the business in 1979 to make his initial wealth.[citation needed]

Currency trading

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After selling the family business in the late 1970s, Lewis moved into currency trading in the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in his move to the Bahamas where he is now a tax exile.[7] In September 1992, Lewis bet on the pound's crashing out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. The event was dubbed Black Wednesday.[8][9][10]

Tavistock Group

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Main article: Tavistock Group

Lewis is the main investor in Tavistock Group, which owns more than 200 companies in 15 countries.

Property

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Lewis hosted the Tavistock Cup tournament every March from 2004 through 2013, in Florida, [11][12] raising millions of dollars for charity, and owns three of the six clubs that competed in 2013:[13] Albany, Lake Nona Golf & Country Club and Isleworth Golf & Country Club. Lewis built a golf community in the Bahamas called Albany, which opened in October 2010. Lewis currently resides in Albany. Tiger Woods and Ernie Els are also major shareholders in the luxury resort community located in New Providence. Lewis made a £70 million investment in Bulgarian property development.[14]

Lake Nona Medical City

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Main article: Lake Nona Medical City

Lewis seeded Lake Nona, covering 7,000 acres next to Orlando's international airport, with $100 million in gifts and land which was cultivated into a large-scale community offering research and educational facilities, hospitals for veterans and children, a town center, and a range of workspaces and residential options.[15]

Escondido Lake and controversy

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Since Lewis bought a property in Río Negro Province, Argentina, public access to Escondido lake has been under discussion. The Argentine law asserts that every water course is public and of free access.[16] In 2009 Lewis was ordered by the Superior Tribunal de Justicia (STJ) to create and keep access to the lake, with "sufficient signage and to keep it transitable", but the ruling has not been enforced. Lewis' frontman Van Ditmer stated: "We are going to defend the private property with the Winchester in the hands; with blood if needed".[17]

He is currently planning to use a huge protected area, four times the size of the city of Buenos Aires, for another private development, against the wishes of the locals. The property was bought for 69 pesos per hectare, currently about US$4. This low price was secured by using the name of a local 'poblador' on the deed, after which it was transferred to him. It is suggested that the Hidden Lake property is needed to supply water and (hydraulic) energy to this new property, dubbed the private state in Patagonia. In January 2017, new mass protests have started in El Bolson against this project.[17][18]

Bear Stearns

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Main article: Bear Stearns

On 10 September 2007, Lewis paid US$860.4 million in an all-cash purchase of a 7% stake in Bear Stearns.[19] By December 2007 Lewis had raised his stake at the brokerage firm to 9.4%, a total of 11 million shares, for which he paid an average price of $107 apiece.[20] After the purchase of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan for $10 a share, it was estimated that Lewis lost $1.16 billion on his investment.[7][21][22]

Mitchells & Butlers

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Main article: Mitchells & Butlers

Lewis is the largest shareholder in the British public house group Mitchells & Butlers, controlling 26.85% of the issued share capital through his investment vehicle Piedmont, which he built up since 2008.[23][24]

Insider trading conviction

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On 25 July 2023, United States attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams announced that Lewis would be charged for multiple counts of insider trading. Lewis is accused of tipping off employees, associates, friends, and romantic interests with non-public information about various entities and lending some of them hundreds of thousands of dollars to trade on the privileged knowledge.[25][26] Lewis surrendered himself to the Manhattan authorities on 26 July 2023,[27] pleading guilty to the charges in January 2024.[28] In April 2024, Lewis was spared jail time after admitting insider trading, sentenced to probation, and fined $5 million.[29][30]

Personal life

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Superyacht Aviva

Lewis has been married twice. His first marriage to Esther Browne ended in divorce. They had two children: Vivienne Lewis Silverton and Charles Lewis. Vivienne Lewis Silverton is seen as his "heir"[7] and is on Tavistock's board of directors.[31][32] She is divorced from Toby Silverton, the former chairman of Bristol Cars, once fully owned by Tavistock.[33][34][35] She was engaged to the ex-Liverpool footballer Craig Johnston for 18 years in the 2000s to 2010s.[36] Charles Lewis lives in Argentina,[7] Lewis is now married to Jane Lewis.[7]

Lewis owns the superyacht Aviva.[37]

Art collection

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Lewis' art collection is estimated to be worth $1 billion and includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Lucian Freud and sculptor Henry Moore, [10] Lewis bought Francis Bacon's Triptych 1974–1977 in 2008 for £26.3 million,[38] then a record for postwar artwork bought in Europe.[39] In November 2018 Joe Lewis sold his Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) by David Hockney in Christie's salesroom for $90.3 million.[40]

Lewis is the owner of several versions of Arturo Di Modica's iconic Charging Bull, including the original, which the artist installed during the middle of the night on 15 December 1989 on Wall Street with no prior permission from the authorities.[41][42][43]

References

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  1. ^ "Shareholder Information". Tottenham Hotspur. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  2. ^ Kilpatrick, Dan (18 October 2022). "Billionaire owner Joe Lewis ceases 'significant control' of Tottenham". Evening Standard. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  3. ^ "UK billionaire whose family trust owns Tottenham soccer club pleads not guilty to insider trading". AP News. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  4. ^ "The Sunday Times Rich List 2023". The Times. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  5. ^ European Jewish Press: "Jewish businessmen prominent in British 'Rich List'" Archived 14 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine 24 April 2006
  6. ^ Marcotti, Gabriele (11 November 2012). "Star of David, For Entertainment Only". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Luscombe, Richard and Teather, David (22 March 2008). "The East Ender who blew a billion dollars in a day". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Bowers, Simon. "Profile: Joe Lewis", The Guardian, 14 September 2007.
  9. ^ "Billionaires: March 2011 – Profile: Joe Lewis". Forbes.
  10. ^ a b "World's Billionaires 2013". Forbes. 4 March 2013.
  11. ^ "Isleworth to host World Challenge".
  12. ^ "Tavistock Cup Replaced by Tiger's World Challenge".
  13. ^ Tavistock press release, 2013
  14. ^ Jenny Davey (27 September 2007). "Joe Lewis takes aim at Bulgaria". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  15. ^ "Orlando's Newest Attraction Is Medical". New York Times. 7 September 2010.
  16. ^ ¿Quién es Joe Lewis, el magnate dueño de Lago Escondido?, Clarín, 26 March 2016.
  17. ^ a b "Joe Lewis, el verdadero patrón del mal de la Patagonia". Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Día histórico en El Bolsón: Más de 15 mil personas marcharon contra el loteo de Joe Lewis". Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  19. ^ "Bear Stearns Gains on Speculation About Stake Sale (Update5)". Bloomberg. 26 September 2007.
  20. ^ "Lewis, Barrow Hanley Lose Combined $2 Billion on Bear (Update2)". Bloomberg. 17 March 2008.
  21. ^ Bryan-Low, Cassell (17 March 2008). "A Stake Through the Heart". The Wall Street Journal.
  22. ^ "Joseph Lewis: "I Lost $1 Billion in Bear Stearns"".
  23. ^ Jenny Davey (18 September 2011). "Mitchells & Butlers: the giant pub company with no one to call 'time'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  24. ^ The Jewish Chronicle: "Joe Lewis still has that midas touch" by Alex Brummer Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine 10 June 2010
  25. ^ Miller, Joe; Agini, Samuel (25 July 2023). "British billionaire Joe Lewis charged in the US with insider trading". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  26. ^ "UK Billionaire Joe Lewis Faces US Insider Trading Charges". Bloomberg.com. 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  27. ^ Cohen, Luc; Stempel, Jonathan; Cohen, Luc (26 July 2023). "British billionaire Joe Lewis surrenders on US insider trading charges". Reuters. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  28. ^ "Tottenham Hotspur billionaire Joe Lewis pleads guilty to insider trading charges in US". Sky. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  29. ^ "British Billionaire Joe Lewis Avoids Prison In Insider Trading Case". The Republic Reporter. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  30. ^ "Joe Lewis: British billionaire and former Spurs owner avoids jail over insider trading scheme". Sky News. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  31. ^ Tavistock Website: Board of Directors Archived 17 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 8 September 2012
  32. ^ City AM: "JOE LEWIS CLAN BEARS HIS FOURTH GENERATION" by HARRIET DENNYS 23 November 2011
  33. ^ Bristol Cars: "The end of the second era - 1997-2011" Archived 10 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 31 December 2012
  34. ^ New York Times: "Bristol Cars: Exclusive Anonymity" By NICK KURCZEWSKI 11 February 2008
  35. ^ This Is Bristol: "Bristol Cars - Memorable Motors" by Gerry Brook Archived 5 May 2013 at archive.today 8 December 2009
  36. ^ "Craig Johnston's mixed emotions over Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham". 28 May 2019.
  37. ^ "Joe Lewis stays in the shadows as Spurs seek a team fit for Conte". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  38. ^ Mark Brown (8 February 2008). "What recession? Bacon sells for £26.3m]". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  39. ^ Sarah Thornton (29 August 2008). "Francis Bacon claims his place at the top of the market". The Art Newspaper. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  40. ^ Reyburn, Scott; Pogrebin, Robin (16 November 2018). "David Hockney Painting Sells for $90 Million, Smashing Record for Living Artist". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  41. ^ "Reserve Collection │ Tavistock Restaurant Collection". Tavistock Restaurant Collection. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  42. ^ "Arturo di Modica: Charging Bull". Phillips. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  43. ^ Risen, Clay (21 February 2021). "Arturo Di Modica, Sculptor of the 'Charging Bull', Dies at 80". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
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