Joe Lewis in the spotlight after pleading guilty to insider trading in a Manhattan court

He’s the East End boy who became one of Britain’s richest men in a rags-to-riches story that included the takeover of Tottenham Hotspur, a beauty queen girlfriend less than half his age and a sprawling business empire .

But Joe Lewis’ downfall was complete when he pleaded guilty to insider trading in a federal courthouse in Manhattan on Wednesday.

Flanked by his lawyer, the 86-year-old currency trader turned business magnate said he was “ashamed” after admitting conspiracy and two charges of securities fraud.

It leaves Lewis’s reputation in tatters – and puts the spotlight on the activities of his business empire.

These range from Spurs – the football club he bought from Alan Sugar for £22 million in 2001 and is now owned by his family trust – to pub chain Mitchells & Butlers, where he is the largest shareholder alongside Irish horse racing magnates JP McManus and John Magnier. .

The empire is also acquiring its investment firm Tavistock Group, which owns real estate, sports, financial, energy and life sciences companies.

Lewis now faces 45 years in prison.

Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the guilty plea “affirms that the law applies to everyone, no matter who you are or how much wealth you have.”

It comes after Lewis was arrested last July and charged with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.

Prosecutors alleged he passed inside information to his contacts between 2013 and 2021, abusing his access to company boardrooms.

Investors who received tips reportedly included an ex-girlfriend, former beauty pageant queen Carolyn Carter, who was told about a biotech company in 2019 before the results of a clinical trial were made public.

It is even claimed he logged into her bank account and used £551,000 to invest in it, ultimately making a profit of £668,000.

In another case, Lewis is said to have transferred his private pilots Patrick O’Connor and Bryan Waugh £400,000 each to buy shares in a company.

O’Connor is said to have texted a friend: ‘The boss has loaned Marty and I £400,000 each’ and ‘the boss has inside information… why else would he let us invest’.

The embarrassing plea casts a dark cloud over a businessman who has shunned the spotlight despite an estimated fortune of £5 billion.

Lewis grew up in Bow, east London, and left school at the age of 15.

He made his early fortune with the Beefeater pub chain, before selling it and entering the foreign exchange business.

He built a reputation in the financial markets for large, speculative trades, including a profitable bet on sterling ahead of Black Wednesday in 1992, when Britain left the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

However, he also suffered a $1 billion loss after backing Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns ahead of the 2008 financial crisis.

He has kept his distance from his homeland, moving to the Bahamas in 1979, where he bought a multi-million pound house next door to the late Sean Connery – and installed screens in every room to keep an eye on exchange rates.

He also owns real estate in Florida and Argentina. “There are rich people who want attention,” said a source who knows Lewis. “He’s not one.”

Attention can now turn to the Mitchells & Butlers pub group, with brands such as All Bar One, Browns and Harvester.

Lewis bought it in 2008, taking a 22.8 percent stake from real estate magnate Robert Tchenguiz.

During Covid, Lewis and a group of super-rich tycoons took control of the chain and formed a new entity called Odyzean, which has a 57 percent stake.

Odyzean consists of Lewis, the currency trader Derrick Smith and Magnier and McManus.

The group is known as the ‘Sandy Lane set’ due to their links to the exclusive Barbados hotel, a favorite of celebrities such as Joan Collins and Mick Jagger.

Most embarrassingly, the incident raises questions about his involvement with Tottenham Hotspur, London’s richest club.

He took over in 2001 and turned it into a commercial hit, despite a lack of success on the field.

Spurs are now 86.58 percent owned by Enic, which is in turn 70.12 percent controlled by the Lewis Family Trust.

In October 2022, Lewis “ceased to be a person with significant control” of the Trust, although it retains his name.

The billionaire was widely believed to be the silent force behind the throne, steering the club’s chairman, Daniel Levy, in one direction or another – and jokingly dubbed ‘Uncle Joe’ by many fans.

The guilty pleas could now raise new questions about the future ownership of the London club.