Spurs owner Joe Lewis lives on a £112m boat, is friends with Tiger Woods and gave The Nolans its first gig – The Sun

JOE LEWIS owns Tottenham Hotspur, but you probably rarely see him.

Late winter self-made billionaire rarely visits the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to cheer for Harry Kane and Co, enjoys life on a superyacht in the Caribbean during trips to North London.

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Residing mainly in the Bahamas on His £112m boat is called the Aviva IIIhe also has a house next to Sean Connery’s old estate and is friends with Tiger Woods.

Over the years, he launched the career of Robert Earl, founder of Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock and ’70s pop inspirations The Nolans.

And according to the Forbes rich list, he has an estimated fortune of £4.3 billion.

Let SunSport take you through the world of the man nicknamed “The Boxer” because of his sports name.

Who is Joe Lewis?

Joe is the real cockney who was born to the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow in 1937, making him 84 years old. It is thought he was raised in an apartment above the Roman Arms pub in East London.

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Joe Lewis was born to the church bells of St. Mary-le-Bow

He left school at 15 to work in the family cafe as a waiter, earning £6 a week.

He later established more businesses in the West End, London called Tavistock Banqueting.

Joe has opened restaurants including the Northumberland Grand, London’s first chic costume-themed eatery aimed at tourists.

From there, he developed the Beefeater, Cockney, Caledonian and Hanover Grand.

He ran his first super club called The Talk of the Town in the 1960s, where the likes of Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and Tom Jones performed.

At the Hanover Grand, Joe gave The Nolans their first live show, and he gave Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock founder Robert Earl his first job.

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Joe even delves into the world of travel shops, selling souvenirs and organizing bus tours to London for expats and sending them off at his restaurants.

He sold the business in 1979 for £30 million and moved to the Bahamas as a tax evader.

How he turned his millions into billions…

After moving to Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, Joe entered the world of currency trading.

That’s where he made his tens of millions, gambling on stocks, as he sought to continue amassing his massive fortune.

And that was in September 1992 when he became a billionaire, thanks in part to a savvy Black Wednesday investment.

Joe has partnered with investor George Soros who believes the pound is overvalued and will collapse when Britain tries to link it to other eurozone countries.

He bet the British Pound would crash out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism and it became a billionaire overnight.

Joe repeated the trick years later by betting on the Mexican peso and making himself even worse.

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He lives on one of the most luxurious boats in the world…

Well, most months of the year… and it’s not just any old boat.

The Aviva III, built in 2007, is Joe’s mobile private office and it measures 223ft with an estimated value of £112m.

It was built by German builders Abeking and Rasmussen and designed by Reymond Langton.

The large yacht can accommodate up to 16 people and in sea trials, speeds up to 20 knots (23mph).

Joe is a keen sportsmanwith a ship with a large tennis court.

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In May 2013, the Spurs took a trip to the Bahamas and were greeted on board by host Joe.

Michael Dawson, who was captain at the time, said: “I’ve never met him before, so it was great going there and a great experience.

“What a nice guy. And that yacht is not real! But he’s just an ordinary guy.

“You can chat with him about anything. He likes all the games, he loves it.

“We just sat there chatting. He made us feel so welcome there. It was so comfortable. So much camaraderie.

“It’s helpful to be able to see someone invested so much in the club that he wants to be successful.

“He’s always watching. He knows what’s going on. He’ll remember every game, every little thing.”

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Joe has friends in high places…

Of course, when you are as rich as Joe, you will attract the attention of society.

His best mate is Tiger Woods, who has called Joe “my business advisor” in the past.

Every year, when he’s not injured, Tiger competes in Joe’s Tavistock Cup in Florida.

It is organized around two of Joe’s developments in Orlando called Isleworth and Lake Nona.

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By chance, when Tiger Woods got into his infamous 2009 low-speed car accident it’s at Joe’s Isleworth complex where the golfer has a home.

Joe, who also owns properties in Argentina and Bulgaria, shows off Ernie Els as another friend, and the pair are said to often dine together.

Making friends with golfers gives you the hint that Joe is a good golfer himself.

He is expected to compete on a 14 handicap and has trained with Woods and Els in the past.

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He has an extensive art collection…
When you are a rich man, you need to have hobbies beyond golf and relaxing on yachts.

That’s why Joe has an art collection that makes every Premier League owner jealous.

Believed to be worth around £1 billion, he owns works by post-expressionists Picasso, Chagall, Matisse and Miros.

However, in 2008, Joe caused a stir, at least in the art world, with an extremely luxurious purchase.

The businessman splurged £26.3 million on Triptych 1974-1977 by Francis Bacon.

And you would never guess where he keeps all his art? Yeah, that’s right.. paintings adorn the walls of his giant yacht.

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And now for something personal…

Joe was married twice, his first wife was Esther Browne, whom he met on his greasy spoon.

She currently lives in Ireland.

They had two children, Vivienne and Charlie, before divorcing.

Joe later married his former assistant Jane, however they had no children.

But before you think life has turned rosy for Joe, he’s touched by the loss.

He lost his father to cancer, so he wanted to give something back.

Joe has set up a foundation to help raise research and charity funds run by his daughter Vivienne.

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