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Billionaire Tottenham chief motors up Rich List, now fifth wealthiest in UK
By Harry Sykes
Billionaire Tottenham owner Joe Lewis is now the fifth richest person in the UK, according to the Forbes 2017 Rich List released this week.
The 80-year-old, who lives in the Bahamas, is the majority shareholder of ENIC International Ltd, which controls Spurs.
Lewis appointed chairman Levy, who has a 29 per cent stake in ENIC, to run the Premier League club in 2001 and it has become increasingly successful on the pitch in recent seasons.
Off it, Lewis has continued to build up his wealth and the Forbes Rich List for 2017 places him as the fifth richest person in the UK and 269th in the world.
Lewis has an estimated personal fortuneof £4.5billion, up £240million from last year. That compares to a £2.4billion fortune back in 2008.
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Lewis, who was born above a pub in London’s East End, helped his family build a catering business before selling it off and becoming a currency trader.
Spurs are going through a transformative spell following nearly two decades in the shadows of bitter rivals Arsenal.
They are second in the Premier League, recently built a state-of-the-art training complex in Enfield and are constructing a 61,000-capacity, £800million stadium alongside White Hart Lane.
However, Lewis has plenty of interests across the Atlantic in addition to the increasingly successful football club.
His Forbes entry states: “Joe Lewis continues to expand his vision for his Lake Nona development near Orlando, one of the fastest growing communities in the USA. In January 2017, the U.S. Tennis Association opened its new $63 million campus, with 100 courts and a dormitory, on the site.
“That same month accounting firm KPMG announced a new $430 million training and conference center to be built at Lake Nona. Major League Soccer’s Orlando City SC is building a new 23-acre training facility at Lake Nona, set to be complete in March 2017.”
In other Tottenham news, a forward has signed after Spurs agreed terms on an out-of-window deal.
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