Joe the Billionaire 'Boxer' Squares Up to Ladbrokes ; the Son of an East End Cafe Owner, Joe Lewis Now Lives As a Tax Exile in the Bahamas. He's Made His Fortune Gambling On Currencies but Now He has a Pounds 300m Stake in a Betting Empire

Evening Standard - London › February 20, 2008

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Summary

THEY call Joe Lewis The Boxer. It's a sobriquet he earned on Wall Street, in part because his name recalls that of the heavyweight legend Joe Louis, but mostly because he does business with a pugnacity that leaves lesser men reeling. Now, it is said, Lewis is about to deliver a knockout blow to the British gambling industry.

He has built up a seven per cent stake in Ladbrokes, the UK's biggest bookmaker, and is thought to be quietly buying a slice of Rank, the bingo operator.

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Joe the Billionaire 'Boxer' Squares Up to Ladbrokes ; the Son of an East End Cafe Owner, Joe Lewis Now Lives As a Tax Exile in the Bahamas. He's Made His Fortune Gambling On Currencies but Now He has a Pounds 300m Stake in a Betting Empire

The revelation of his Ladbrokes holding, acquired through Citigroup, the US bank, at a cost of Pounds 300 million, has sent the City into a spin. In a typical, mischievous touch, he has let it be known he'd like to buy more should they become available.

He may launch a bid, he may be planning something with his billionaire friends, John Magnier and JP McManus, huge figures in horse-racing and already the holders of three per cent of Ladbrokes. .

It is believed the trio have alr...

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