Former Tottenham owner Joe Lewis receives presidential pardon from Donald Trump – The Athletic
Joe Lewis, whose family is the majority shareholder of Tottenham Hotspur, has been given a presidential pardon by President Donald Trump.
Bahamas-based billionaire Lewis pled guilty to insider trading in 2024 and was fined $5million by a New York judge.
A White House official indicated Trump had approved a pardon for Lewis, and said Lewis had requested the pardon to allow him to receive medical treatment and visit his grandchildren and great grandchildren in the United States.
Lewis is the founder of ENIC, which owns 87.62 per cent of Tottenham, just over 70 per cent of which is controlled by the Lewis family trust. ENIC first acquired a stake in Spurs in 2000.
The Lewis family have taken an increasingly hands-on role with Tottenham this year, notably since the dismissal of Daniel Levy as executive chairman in September. Joe’s daughter Vivienne Lewis a regular attendee at games, often alongside her brother Charles Lewis and son-in-law Nick Beucher.
Joe Lewis’ pardon will not change either the organisation of the trust or the running of the club. Lewis himself ceased to be a person of “significant control” at Tottenham in October 2022.
Joe 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. 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. This is why there is so much more to the Joe Lewis story than this one event.”
Why has Lewis been pardoned?
Since returning to office in January, President Trump has given a series of high-profile pardons, including recently to baseball legend Darryl Strawberry and former Congressman George Santos.
In the case of Joe Lewis, the fact that he is 88 years old was a factor, as was the fact that he did not personally profit from the insider trading to which he pled guilty.
This pardon will allow Lewis to re-enter the United States for the first time since his sentencing last year, allowing him to return to Florida where much of his family — including his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren — reside.
What does this mean for Spurs?
Nothing will change for Tottenham Hotspur. Joe Lewis ceased to be a person of “significant control” in October 2022, according to Companies House, and that will continue to be the case.
He is not a beneficiary of the trust through which the Lewis family has a majority shareholding in the club. The member of the Lewis family most involved in the club will still be Joe’s daughter Vivienne, who has been a regular attender of Spurs matches this season. Her brother Charles Lewis and her son-in-law Nick Beucher have both also gone to games. They will continue their involvement with club matters, which has increased since Daniel Levy’s dismissal as executive chairman in September.
Joe Lewis will not now become involved with the running of the football club.
What did Lewis plead guilty to?
Joe Lewis pled guilty to insider trading in a court in New York in January 2024, or more specifically to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud.
At his sentencing in April 2024 he avoided prison but was fined $5million and given three years probation. The case centred on Lewis advising friends on stocks to invest in that were about to increase in value.
Mark Herr, who represented Lewis, said in January 2024: “Mr Lewis is deeply sorry, embarrassed, and apologises to the Court, his family, and all those who have come to rely on him.”
