Billionaire’s Tipping Habits and Relationship Drama Bring Him to Court

Joe Lewis, indicted last year, admitted to sharing market-sensitive information about the companies in which he held investments.

Nestled on the shores of Lago Escondido in Argentina’s northern Patagonia, against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains, is the expansive estate of British billionaire Joe Lewis. This luxurious property serves as a venue for entertaining public officials and carefully selected personnel from the upper echelons of Lewis’ investment firm, as well as other companies where the 86-year-old holds a vested interest.

During a particular visit in 2006, a group of over a dozen businessmen enjoyed horseback riding and fishing, all while admiring what appeared to be Picasso’s Le Reve and two versions of the Women of Algiers on the villa’s walls, as revealed by photos obtained by Bloomberg. These excursions, showcasing Lewis’ opulence and generosity, have played a role in fostering loyalty and respect among his closest advisers, trusted employees, and influential associates over the span of several decades.

However, more than 15 years after that memorable journey in Argentina, Lewis finds himself entangled in legal difficulties due to his penchant for bestowing extravagant perks upon employees and associates. In a federal court in Manhattan, he pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of providing non-public inside information for stock trades to his longtime private pilots and a romantic partner.

Admitting guilt before US District Judge Jessica Clarke during a hearing, Lewis confessed, “While in possession of material non-public information about certain publicly traded companies, I agreed to provide recommendations to other individuals to purchase stock. I knew at the time that what I was doing was wrong, and I’m deeply embarrassed.”

In exchange for his plea, Lewis is expected to receive a significantly reduced sentence. Initially facing a potential 45-year prison term, he has waived his right to appeal unless a jail sentence is imposed, according to his lawyer, David Zornow.

Facing indictment last year, Lewis acknowledged passing on market-moving information related to the companies in which he held investments. In a departure from typical insider trading cases, Lewis did not directly profit from the trades. Prosecutors contend that he shared information with his pilots as an informal retirement plan and with his romantic partners to “shower” them with gifts.

Pilots Patrick O’Connor and Bryan Waugh, indicted on securities fraud along with Lewis last year, are scheduled for a hearing Thursday after previously pleading not guilty. While Lewis’s former girlfriend, Carolyn Carter, was not charged criminally, she faces a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission. In one cited trade from the indictment, Lewis purportedly lent Waugh and O’Connor $500,000 each to purchase shares in Mirati Therapeutics Inc. before the public disclosure of the company’s clinical trial results in 2019.

A spokesperson for Lewis characterized the 2006 Argentina trip as a retreat for “Mr.Lewis’ family and most trusted associates.” However, a former associate who has visited the estate suggested that it wasn’t always exclusively a family affair.

Employees often vied for invitations to such trips, interpreting them as a clear indication of being in the boss’s good graces.

Captured moments from the trip depict Lewis proudly showcasing his catch and leading colleagues on horseback through streams near his property, creating a picturesque scene.

Often referred to as the ‘Ritz Carlton on the Water,’ Lewis, currently valued at approximately $7.6 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, made an unconventional journey to success. Dropping out of high school to work in his father’s London catering business, he transformed the operation into a chain of themed restaurants. After selling it, he ventured into currency trading and moved to the affluent Bahamas community of Lyford Cay to escape UK taxes.

In financial folklore, Lewis’s initial major success came from betting against the British pound in 1992, the same trade that earned George Soros $1 billion. Lewis’s gains were likely smaller, according to traders. Another significant win was his investment in Russian energy giant Gazprom in the early 2000s, according to sources with knowledge of the move.

Currently heavily invested in real estate, Lewis is involved in developing Lake Nona, an exclusive community near Orlando, Florida, and a luxury equestrian community in Palm Beach County, partnering with celebrities Justin Timberlake and Tiger Woods.

Through a family trust and his California-based biotech fund Boxer Capital, Lewis holds stakes in three companies central to the insider trading charges against him, including Australian Agricultural Co. and Mirati Therapeutics. Notably, the companies themselves have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The 322-foot yacht, described by a former colleague as the “Ritz Carlton on the water,” has seen Lewis host board meetings on deck while docked in New York’s East River or a California port. Equipped with its own padel tennis court below deck, the vessel provides a unique setting for both business and recreation.

In September 2019, Lewis extended an invitation to a Boxer Capital employee, also serving on Mirati Therapeutics’s board, for a visit on the Aviva in California. During the week-long stay, the employee shared non-public information about Mirati’s clinical trial results and upcoming corporate announcements, speculating that the share price could exceed $100, according to prosecutors. The employee, however, faced no accusations of wrongdoing.

Since acquiring more than 12,000 hectares in Argentina’s Rio Negro province nearly 30 years ago, Lewis has not limited his hospitality to his own staff. He has entertained company executives, judges, and government officials, though this has led to tension with locals seeking access to the public lake.
While Lewis wasn’t on the 1999 flight, he reportedly claimed it was an attempt on his life, as shared by a person familiar with such conversations.

Known for valuing privacy and security, Lewis has an extensive art collection, with photographs from the 2006 trip showing Le Reve and the Women of Algiers adorning the walls of an intricately decorated living room in his Argentina estate.

While billionaire Steve Wynn’s accidental damage to Le Reve in 2006 raised doubts about the authenticity of the piece in Lewis’s collection, it remains well-documented.