Bear Stearns' Wild-Card Shareholder

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Born in London, Lewis lived above the family's pub, the Roman Arms, until the Germans destroyed it during the Blitz in World War II. At 15, he left school to work at the family's café. Eager to tap into the tourist market, he supposedly dragged a concrete bus stop sign in front of the restaurant. From that rough beginning the family business took off, with Lewis expanding it into a chain of themed restaurants.

In 1979, Lewis sold the restaurant empire for £30 million, using the proceeds to fund his next moves, this time in financial markets. To avoid England's capital-gains tax, he moved to the Bahamas and began speculating in foreign currencies. His first big score came in 1992 after he bet on a falling British pound, the same trade that famously made George Soros billions "breaking the Bank of England." Lewis went on to short the Mexican peso in 1995, profiting from that country's economic crisis. Those bets turned millions into billions for Lewis, whose personal wealth now stands at more than $2 billion.

Today, Lewis puts most of his fortune to work through Tavistock. He's largely a hands-off manager. Although he occasionally meets with his various boards of directors to discuss macroeconomic trends in countries and industries that will affect his business or investments, Lewis is just as likely to call up a portfolio manager to chat informally about an idea or host a dinner simply for a brainstorming session. "He probably fears for the organization the larger it gets," says Rasesh Thakkar, a senior managing director at Tavistock. "He doesn't want it to get bureaucratic and lose its nimbleness."

Investing in Isleworth

Lewis' base of operation now centers around his Windermere (Fla.) home, which doubles as Tavistock headquarters. He stumbled upon the Orlando area accidentally, while negotiating in the 1980s with Disney World to manage an English-themed restaurant on the park's grounds. The deal never panned out, but Lewis thought the region had untapped potential.

So he purchased the gated community and golf club Isleworth out of bankruptcy from Mellon Bank for $21 million. He transformed the struggling community into a thriving one, wooing actors and professional athletes, including golfers Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. Today, Isleworth is one of the most sought-after addresses in Florida, where a three-bedroom, three-bath, 2,800-square-foot golf villa sells for $1.5 million.

As with Isleworth, Lewis bought the Lake Nona property at cut-rate prices and turned it into a high-end, 7,000-acre planned community in Orlando. He went a step further with Lake Nona, creating a hub for biotechnology in the region by pushing the University of Central Florida to open a medical school there. In a $350 million deal, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research put down roots in Lake Nona. A new, ultra-modern veterans hospital plans to do so as well. It's been a big boost to the biotech industry in Orlando. "Lewis and his team had a vision for life sciences in Orlando," says Ray Gilley, head of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

Of course, the benefit to Lewis is twofold. For one, given his biotech interest, which includes stakes in several small pharmaceutical companies, he can take advantage of the relationships with the academics and researchers at Lake Nona. Meanwhile, with the medical complex anchoring the development, Lewis hopes to distinguish Lake Nona from the usual suburban sprawl and perhaps insulate it from the whims of the real estate market. "He created a lot for us and for himself," says University of Central Florida President John Hitt.

Lewis is certainly hoping to do the same with Bear Stearns. And although doubters could make the case that it's an ill-fated investment, it's not one Lewis is likely to dwell on if his interests change. "For Lewis, decisions literally take seconds," says Tavistock's Thakkar. "If he loves [an idea], he loves it and moves on."

Levisohn is a staff editor at BusinessWeek covering finance and personal finance.