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This sandbox page was created in 2016 as part of the discussions at Talk:Emmanuel Lemelson/Archive 1#A sandbox version.
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Father

Emmanuel Lemelson
Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson
Orders
OrdinationJuly 23, 2011
by Metropolitan Elpidophoros the Abbot of the Theological School at Halki
Personal details
Born(1976-06-29)June 29, 1976 (age 39)
Phoenix, Arizona,
United States
OccupationPriest, cultural leader, social activist, investment manager

Emmanuel Lemelson (born June 29, 1976 as Gregory Manoli Lemelson) is an American businessman, Greek Orthodox priest, social commentator and hedge fund manager.

In 1999, he started a retail business named Amvona selling photographic accessories in America. He closed this in 2010, changing its website into a social commentary site.

He was ordained a Greek Orthodox priest in 2011 and was assigned to the Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America. In 2014 he was a member of the Orthodox Church's delegation at the two day meeting between Ecumenical Patriarchate Bartholomew I and Pope Francis in Istanbul, and is in favour of reconciliation between the two churches.

He has commented unfavourably on the securitization of mortgage-backed securities.

In 2012, he founded Lemelson Capital Management which runs The Amvona Fund, LP, a hedge fund that after its first two years of operation reported 160% net gains.

Early life and education

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Lemelson was born Gregory Manoli Lemelson[1] in Phoenix, Arizona, the son of a Jewish father and Christian mother.[2] He attended Seattle University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies[3] in 1999, followed by Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, earning a Master's of Divinity in 2003.[1]

While an 17-year old undergraduate at Seattle University, Lemelson met Robert Spitzer, a Jesuit priest and philosopher. In interviews, Lemelson has indicated that the encounter was a significant event in his religious life.[4][5][6]

Businessman

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Lemelson has written about his early business experiences, saying that his earliest recollection was selling candy on the bus ride home from school in the sixth grade.[7] In 1994, while an undergraduate student at Seattle University, he launched a retail photography business. In 1999 Lemelson founded the retail website Amvona (from the Greek world for "pulpit") from his dorm room at Hellenic College. The company, which sold photography accessories, grew quickly, generating around $40 million in revenue.[8]

Between 1999 and 2010, Amvona sold more than a million photo accessories to 300,000 customers, and was one of the top ten most visited online photo retail websites. The company also registered several patents, including proprietary software to connect its customers through user profiles, product reviews, exif data and online tracking software. Similar technology has since been used by other websites to track user activities.[8][9]

In 2005, based in part on proprietary software developed by the company, the Amvona website began to include elements of social networking alongside the ecommerce content.[10] By 2007, Lemelson developed technology to link media creation to relevant products using exif data and aggregating shared images of the site's users as a prototype first known as 'Amvona Trails' and later rebranded as the independent website Flekt.[11][12]

Lemelson discontinued the retail side of the business in 2010 changing the website into a news and securities analysis content outlet focused on issues of faith, technology, economics and investing.[12][13]

Greek Orthodox priest

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Holy Trinity Albanian Orthodox Church, South Boston

Lemelson was ordained as a Greek Orthodox Deacon on July 23, 2011 and, the following day, as a priest by Metropolitan Elpidophoros of Bursa.[14] He was granted the ecclesiastical name Emmanuel[citation needed] and was assigned to the Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America at the Holy Trinity Albanian Orthodox parish in South Boston to which he was still assigned as of January 2016.[15] In June 2013,[citation needed] he was assigned to the Holy Metropolis of Switzerland, a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.[4]

In December 2012, with the blessing of Bartholomew I of Constantinople[citation needed], Lemelson founded The Lantern Foundation, a non-profit foundation focused on supporting religious, charitable and educational causes especially those associated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.[16] Since its inception, he has served as its president.[3]

In November 2014, Lemelson was a member of the Orthodox Church's delegation for a two day meeting between Ecumenical Patriarchate Bartholomew I and Pope Francis in Istanbul. He has said that as a young man he fostered a vision that Catholics and Orthodox Christians would soon be reunited,[17] and he has stated that more progress towards reconciliation has been made under these two leaders than had taken place in nearly a millennium,[18] since the East–West Schism.

On September 30, 2015, Lemelson joined U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump at a New Hampshire campaign rally at which Trump asked for[citation needed] and received Lemelson's blessing. Lemelson, who also offered the invocation, spoke at the rally, condemning the abortion practices of Planned Parenthood.[19][20]

Lemelson’s position on ecumenism and the role of the Orthodox Church have been cited in The Washington Post,[21] CBS News, Fox News[22] and The Boston Herald.[23] He has also advocated a philosophy of investment based on Christian ethics.[24]

Social commentator

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In 2010, in conjunction with the change of purpose of his Amvona website, Lemelson began to write on investment-related topics, including security analysis, Christian investment philosophy and ethics. He is a proponent of long-term investments in U.S. value stocks and has criticized what he considered fraudulent practices in the securitization of mortgage-backed securities.[citation needed] His writings on mortgage-backed securities were cited[citation needed] in relation to the legal cases U.S. Bank National Association v. Antonio Ibanez and Francis J. Bevilacqua v. Pablo Rodriguez, in which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that financial institutions that did not hold both mortgages and the notes had no legal standing to pursue foreclosure proceedings against residents of these properties.[25][citation needed]

In 2014 he reached agreement with U.S. Bank after challenging the right of the bank's securitization trust to collect the principal and interest on a mortgage he took out in 2006. As part of the settlement, he was awarded relief of $1.2 million in principal, interest and fees.[26]

Lemelson has appeared as a guest on the "Pre-Market Prep" radio show of Benzinga[27] and on CBS News, Fox News[22] and Fox Business Network.[28]

Hedge fund manager

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In September 2012, Lemelson founded Lemelson Capital Management, LLC, the sole sponsor and general partner of The Amvona Fund, L.P., a small hedge fund (managing around $20 million in late 2015)[2] that focuses on deep value and special situations.[29] He is the chief investment officer of the fund and has advertised it by means of press releases and interviews, under the provisions of the JOBS Act.[30]

His commentary and trades have influenced the stock prices of several equities, including WWE, Skechers and Lumber Liquidators.[citation needed] His activities led the Amvona Fund to be ranked in three months during 2013–14 among the world's top performing hedge funds,[31][32] and by mid 2015 the company reported a total return since its launch of 150 percent.[2]

Lemelson's investment research and analysis has been cited in The Wall Street Journal,[24] USA Today,[33][34] New York Post,[35] Fox Business Network[28] and The Street.[36]

In October 2015 The Wall Street Journal published an article about Lemelson that included a claim that Lemelson boasted of his ability to 'crash' stocks, and quoted him as saying "My whole life I always knew things before they happened. I guess it's just a gift from God."[2] Lemelson later published repudiations of 14 points in the article and accused its author of writing a thinly-veiled ad hominem attack, but according to Benzinga, one of the financial media sites that published Lemelson's responses, Dow Jones (the owner of The Wall Street Journal) stated that they stood by their story.[37]

Personal life

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Lemelson lives in Southborough, Massachusetts and is married to Theodora Anjeza Lemelson.[4] As of 2015 he has four children.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b 33 Degrees awarded at HC/HC Commencement Orthodox Observer, June–July 2003, page 2. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Copeland, Rob (October 28, 2015). "Hedge-Fund Priest: Thou Shalt Make Money". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 December 2015. (Subscription required)
  3. ^ a b The Lantern Foundation official website, "Leadership", Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson", The MetroWest Daily News, June 16, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  5. ^ Brown, Brian "Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson Speaks About His Journey Alongside Amvona" California Business Journal, April 18, 2013. (Archived at archive.org). Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  6. ^ Wright, Susan "Amvona Unites Thinkers On Multi-Faceted Blog" Investment Underground, March 4, 2013. (Archived at archive.org). Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  7. ^ Lemelson, Emmanuel. The Amvona Fund, L.P. 2012 Annual Report (pdf file). Page 7. Retrieved January 7, 2016
  8. ^ a b Costa, Filipe R. (June 8, 2015). "Fund Manager in focus: Emmanuel Lemelson". Master Investor. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  9. ^ "On the Value of Users, Hard Drives and Batteries," Part 1, Seeking Alpha, June 13, 2012., Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  10. ^ "Amvona 720, Apple Sued, Google Video Featured, 2007 Predictions," by Pete Cashmore, Mashable, December 30, 2006., Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  11. ^ "Amvona.com: Buy Equipment, Socialize", Killer Startups, Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Amvona Launches Site-Specific Search for Photographers", by Kristen Nicole, Mashable, February 21, 2008, Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  13. ^ "Frugal business: Mansfield CEO never lost sight of the bottom line", by Rick Foster, The Sun-Chronicle, May 16, 2009., Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  14. ^ "Προύσης Ελπιδοφόρος: "Το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο αγκαλιάζει όλα τα έθνη" Ηλεκτρονικό ταχυδρομείο - Εκτύπωση -"Romfea. 25 Ιουλίου 2011, Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  15. ^ "Albanian Orthodox Diocese" (PDF). Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America 2016 Yearbook. 2016. p. 183. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  16. ^ Welcome to The Lantern Foundation
  17. ^ Tracy, Tom (December 3, 2014). "Some see unity vision reignited by pope, patriarch's gestures in Turkey". The Pilot. Pilot Media Group. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  18. ^ "Three things Pope Francis hopes to accomplish in Turkey," by Josephine Mckenna, The Washington Post, November 26, 2014., Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  19. ^ "Trump blessed by Greek Orthodox Priest," The National Herald, October 16, 2015, Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  20. ^ "Meet the Greek Orthodox priest who runs a hedge fund on the side," by Lucinda Shen, October 27, 2015, Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  21. ^ "Pope Francis makes overture to Orthodox and Muslims, but steep challenges remain," by Josephine Mckenna, The Washington Post, Religion News Service, December 1, 2014, Retrieved November 14, 2015
  22. ^ a b "Pope calls for an end to religious extremism," Fox News, December 5, 2014, Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  23. ^ "Church's long schism seen as shrinking," by Lindsay Kalter, Boston Herald, November 30, 2014, Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  24. ^ a b "The priest who moonlights as a hedge-fund manager," Wall Street Journal video, October 26, 2015, Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  25. ^ "Greg Lemelson makes the case that a little-noticed Massachusetts Supreme Court decision this...," Seeking Alpha, October 20, 2011, Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  26. ^ "High-flying fund may bar entry," Hedge Fund Alert (page five), August 20, 2014, Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  27. ^ Riley, Kevin (April 27, 2015). "This Hedge Fund Manager 'Wouldn't Be Surprised' If iPhone Units Hit 60 Million". Benzinga. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  28. ^ a b "Meet the priest of Wall Street," Fox Business News, November 5, 2015, Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  29. ^ "Lemelson Capital Management" official website, Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  30. ^ Keidan, Maiya (25 September 2014). "Who wants to be an SEC Target?". HFMweek. p. 20. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  31. ^ "SA author ranks first among hedge funds, again," Seeking Alpha, November 25, 2013, Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  32. ^ "Barron's Ranks the World's Top Performing Hedge Funds for April 2014," HFG, Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  33. ^ "World Wrestling pummeled four out of five rounds this week", by Gary Strauss, USA Today, April 11, 2014, Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  34. ^ "Kulicke & Soffa shares surge after investor urges buyback," by Gary Strauss, USA Today, April 22, 2014., Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  35. ^ "WWE stock in sleeper hold as subscriptions stall," by Richard Morgan, New York Post, November 27, 2014, retrieved November 14, 2015.
  36. ^ "Why World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) stock finished down today," by Amanda Schiavo, The Street, April 11, 2014, retrieved November 14, 2015.
  37. ^ "Lemelson Capital Management: Profile In Wall Street Journal Was 'Extraordinarily Error-Laden' And A 'Directory Of Fallacies'". Benzinga. November 4, 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
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[[Category:1976 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Seattle University alumni]] [[Category:Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology alumni]] [[Category:21st-century American businesspeople]] [[Category:American chief executives]] [[Category:American finance and investment writers]] [[Category:American financial analysts]] [[Category:American hedge fund managers]] [[Category:American Orthodox priests]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Massachusetts]] [[Category:Greek Orthodox Christians from the United States]] [[Category:Eastern Orthodox theologians]] [[Category:People from Phoenix, Arizona]] [[Category:Shareholder-rights activists]] [[Category:Stock and commodity market managers]] [[Category:Writers from Massachusetts]] [[Category:21st-century Eastern Orthodox priests]]

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