Ask any Tottenham Hotspur fan about Daniel Levy and they’ll probably have a pretty strong opinion about the club chairman. But, who is Daniel Levy, how much is he worth, and is he ready to leave Spurs?
You can’t have a football club without the owners, and Tottenham‘s owners are pretty high profile. Levy and the Spurs board have been involved for quite some time now, but it hasn’t always been happy days.
From fan protests, to trophy droughts, and lots of commercial success in between, here’s a look at Daniel Levy‘s relationship with Tottenham.
Daniel Levy’s net worth explained
As of May 2024, Daniel Levy was reportedly worth around £450m, and he is the highest-paid chairman in the Premier League.
That’s per the Sunday Times rich list published earlier this year, which had Levy coming in at 303 on the ladder of the wealthiest folk in the world. However, he did drop from the previous year, with a reported £50m loss due to Tottenham’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Apparently, throughout the 2023/24 season, Levy was paid a massive £3.58m as a basic salary, and also received another £3m in bonuses, to put him top of the pile when it comes to Premier League chairmen.
Levy initially made his money through investment banking, private equity, and business partnerships. Put simply, he has forged a career by buying businesses, making them successful, and then selling them on.
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A lot of Levy’s current wealth obviously comes from his association with Spurs, and his successful partnership with Joe Lewis and the ENIC group they formed together.
When did Daniel Levy join Tottenham and ENIC?
Levy actually partnered up with Joe Lewis and the ENIC group way back in 1995, but his association with Tottenham didn’t begin until the year 2000.
He became Managing Director of ENIC in 1995. When the group bought Tottenham Hotspur from Sir Alan Sugar in December 2000, Levy was named on the board of directors.
Levy later became chairman of the club in February 2001 and has remained in the position ever since.
How much of Tottenham does Daniel Levy own?
The structure of ownership at Spurs is quite complex, but the simplest way to figure it out is to know that the ENIC Group owns 86.58% of the club, and that Levy owns 29.88% of the ENIC Group.
Essentially, Levy owns around 25.8% of the club as things stand, whille the Lewis Family Trust owns around 60% of the shares in the club.
Joe Lewis recently relinquished control of the ENIC Group, putting his family trust in charge, meaning Levy is now the most active owner/director involved in the club.
How many trophies have Tottenham won under Daniel Levy
Tottenham Hotspur have won just one trophy under Levy’s stewardship: The League Cup in 2008.
Much has been said of Tottenham’s trophy drought. They are the only club in the so-called Big Six not to have won a trophy in the 2010s and beyond, but they have come close on two occasions.
Spurs made it to the Champions League final in 2019 under Mauricio Pochettino, but lost to Liverpool. They also made it to the Carabao Cup final in 2021, but lost to Manchester City, with Ryan Mason in temporary charge for that game.
Levy himself has been criticised for the perceived lack of backing he has offered managers over the years and for failing to strike when the proverbial iron was hot, particularly during the Pochettino era when the squad was strong and perhaps just needed a couple of top players adding to it to get to the next level.
How many managers have Spurs had during Levy’s tenure?
Tottenham Hotspur have had 12 permanent managers during Levy’s time at the club, plus a further six caretaker managers temporarily in charge.
The Levy era began with Glenn Hoddle at the helm, but the Spurs legend left the role in 2003, with David Pleat taking over as caretaker, before Frenchman Jacques Santini took charge in 2004.
Santini did not last long, with Martin Jol being hired in the same year. The Dutchman lasted three years, give or take, before Clive Allen and Alex Inglethorpe become co-caretaker managers in 2007 (they would later take on the role again in 2008, briefly).
This is where things started to look up for Spurs, though. Juande Ramos came in and won the League Cup for the club, before Harry Redknapp took over in 2008 and really ushered in a new era of success for the Lilywhites.
Redknapp led Spurs to the Champions League for the first time and spent four years at the club. He was replaced by Andre Villas-Boas in 2012, who was in turn replaced by Tim Sherwood in 2013, and a year later, Mauricio Pochettino arrived at White Hart Lane.
The Argentine was hugely popular and relatively successful, too, leading the club to second-placed finishes in the Premier League and that Champions League final.
Since then, we’ve had Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo, Antonio Conte, and caretaker spells for Ryan Mason and Cristian Stellini. Now, of course, we are in the Ange Postecoglou era, and things are looking pretty positive.
Is Daniel Levy selling Tottenham Hotspur?
Daniel Levy has not expressed a desire to sell Tottenham entirely, and would be eager to stay at the club even if some of his shares were bought out. But, he has made it clear the club is looking for investors.
The chairman has previously, very publicly, announced that he is open to a minority share buyout, in order to help the club expand and evolve both on and off the pitch.
The prevailing rumour at the moment is that Amanda Staveley — the businesswoman who spearheaded the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s takeover at Newcastle United — has set her sights on Spurs as her next investment project.
Daniel Levy’s Personal information
Daniel Levy was born in Essex on February 8, 1962, making him 62-years-old at the time of writing.
His father, Barry Levy, was fairly wealthy, too, having owned the clothing company Mr Byrite (which later rebranded as Blue Inc). Daniel Levy would become involved in the family business after graduating from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.
Levy is a lifelong Tottenham supporter, and has been attending matches since childhood.
He is married to Tracy Dixon, his former PA, and they have four children together.