U.S. President Donald Trump to Issue Presidential Pardon to Former Premier League Club Owner

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to issue a pardon to former Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis, who was convicted of insider trading in New York last year.

Lewis was charged with two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, pleading guilty to the offences and fined $5 million. The 88-year-old avoided a prison sentence but was given three years on probation.

However, Lewis will now be the latest presidential pardon issued by Trump since returning to the White House in January. It has been reported by The Athletic that his age and the theory that he has not personally profited from the charges to which he pled guilty are factors in being issued a pardon.

What it means is that Lewis, who stepped back from having any involvement in Spurs in 2022 upon handing ownership of Tottenham to the Lewis Family Trust, can re-enter the United States, with much of his family based in Florida.

But the billionaire, whose fortune was valued at £5.8 billon ($7.6 billion) in the 2025 edition of the Sunday Times Rich List—Britain’s 33rd richest person—is effectively retired and will not return to football. As such, the pardon will make no difference to anything to do with Spurs.
Joe Lewis has long been one of the richest people in the UK. / Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

“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,” Lewis said.

Widely reported comments from an anonymous individual described as 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. There is so much more to the Joe Lewis story than this one event.”

Lewis’s ENIC Group acquired a controlling stake in Tottenham from Alan Sugar in 2001 and went on to buy further shares in conjunction with Daniel Levy in 2003, and again in 2007. Today, ENIC owns an 86.58% stake in Spurs, with Levy holding just under 30% of ENIC.

Levy recently stepped down as the club’s long-serving chairman after almost 25 years in the role.

Lewis’s daughter, son and grandson-in-law are the members of the family most involved with running Spurs, with Peter Charrington recently joining as non-executive chairman. Former Arsenal managing director Vinai Venkatesham has also been brought in as chief executive.