Caption: Joe Lewis. Photo/Facebook

US President Donald Trump pardoned billionaire former Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis on Thursday, a White House official said.

The official said the 88-year-old British mogul requested the gesture in order to receive medical treatment and visit his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the United States.

Lewis, whose family trust holds a majority stake in the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur football team, pleaded guilty in 2024 to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He was spared going to prison and now lives in the Bahamas.

In facing the white-collar crime charges, Lewis admitted guilt, did not fight US extradition in the case, and paid a $5 million fine, the White House official added.

Lewis has a fortune that as of Thursday stood at $6.8 billion, according to Forbes. He built his reputation as a currency speculator in the 1980s and early 1990s.

His holding company ENIC bought a controlling interest in Tottenham in 2001 from then-owner Alan Sugar, another prominent British tycoon, for $22 million.

Lewis officially seeded control of the club in 2022, and his stake was formally handed to a family trust. (AFP)