Friday, November 14, 2025 -President Donald Trump has issued a pardon to Joe Lewis, a British billionaire who pleaded guilty last year to federal insider trading charges.
Lewis, whose family retains the controlling shareholder of
the English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, was indicted in 2023 on
allegations that he schemed for years to abuse his access to corporate
boardrooms and repeatedly shared inside information with romantic partners,
associates, private pilots and others.
“Mr. Lewis admitted he made a terrible mistake, did not
fight extradition in the case, and paid a $5 million fine,” a White House
official told NBC News in a statement Thursday confirming the pardon first
reported by The Athletic.
The statement said that the 88-year-old Lewis, who now lives
in the Bahamas, “requested a pardon so that he may receive medical treatment
and visit his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the United States.”
Lewis’ net worth is an estimated $6.9 billion, according to Forbes.
In a statement, Lewis said: “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 said in a statement that
Lewis and his family “are extremely grateful for this pardon and would like to
thank President Trump for taking this action.”
Trump recently resumed issuing pardons after the White House
temporarily paused and sought to tighten its reviews following concerns that
the process had become a lucrative business for lobbying and consulting firms
during Trump’s second term.
Trump on Monday pardoned his former attorney Rudy Giuliani
and 76 others who have been tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential
election results, including attorneys Sidney Powell, John Eastman and Kenneth
Chesebro, as well as his former chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Those pardons, however, are viewed as largely symbolic since
none of the individuals were convicted of federal crimes, which are shielded by
presidential pardon power.
Last month, Trump commuted the sentence of former Rep.
George Santos. The New York Republican was set to serve seven years in prison
after pleading guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft
charges.
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