Emmanuel Lemelson

Gregory Manoli Lemelson[4] was born on June 29, 1976, in Phoenix, Arizona to a Jewish father and Christian mother.[5][1] Following high school, he attended Seattle University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies[6] in 1999. He then attended Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he received a M.Div. in 2003.[4]

While a 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.[7][8][9]

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.[10] In 1994, while an undergraduate student at Seattle University, he launched a retail photography business, and in 1999 he founded the website Amvona[lower-alpha 1] from his dorm room at Hellenic College. The company, which sold photography accessories, grew quickly, generating around $40 million in revenue.[11]

In 2005, based in part on proprietary software the company developed, the site began a transition to a hybrid platform of social networking and ecommerce content.[12] 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.[13][14]

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, exit data and online tracking software. Similar technology was later used by other websites to track user activities.[11][15] In 2010, Amvona discontinued its e-commerce business. There was no official explanation, however journalist Filipe R. Costa speculated it was due to increased competition from Chinese companies offering cheap photography equipment online, and Lemelson's business philosophy of not taking on massive debt for the possibility of future growth.[11]

Lemelson later added a news and securities analysis content outlet for the site focused on issues of faith, technology, economics and investing.[14][16]

Lemelson was ordained as a Greek Orthodox deacon on July 23, 2011, and, the following day, as a priest by Metropolitan Elpidophoros of Bursa.[17] He was granted the ecclesiastical name Emmanuel and was assigned to the Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America at the Holy Trinity Albanian Orthodox parish in South Boston.[18] In June 2013, he was assigned to the Holy Metropolis of Switzerland, a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.[7]

In November 2014, Lemelson was a member of the Orthodox Church's delegation for a two-day meeting between Ecumenical Patriarch 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,[19] and he has stated that more progress towards reconciliation has been made under these two leaders than had taken place in nearly a millennium,[20] since the East–West Schism. Lemelson also argued that the timing was "critical" since, as he claimed, "Christians are facing unprecedented persecution in our modern era."[19][20]

At a presidential candidate campaign rally for Donald Trump held in Keene, New Hampshire on September 30, 2015, Lemelson offered the invocation and spoke at the rally, condemning the abortion practices of Planned Parenthood. He also gave a personal blessing to Trump.[21]

In October 2016 Lemelson called for the removal of the chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston following a clergy sex-abuse scandal. He said the incident was preventable and there were serious deficiencies in the protocols used for the oversight of clergy.[22][23]

In 2010, Lemelson began to write about investment-related topics, including security analysis, Christian investment philosophy and ethics.

In a 2015 Fox Business video interview, Lemelson criticized the Federal Reserve for keeping interest rates artificially low and contributing to economic inequality.[21]

In a June 2016 op-ed for The National Interest, Lemelson advocated strengthening of US immigration policy, which he claims would oppose Islamic extremism.[24]

Lemelson has been a guest on the Pre-Market Prep show of Benzinga (2015),[25] was interviewed on CBS Radio Boston (2014),[26] was a guest on Fox News's Spirited Debate (6m, 2014),[27] and briefly profiled on Russia's NTV (2018).[28]

In September 2012, Lemelson founded Lemelson Capital Management, LLC, the sole sponsor and general partner of The Amvona Fund, L.P. that focuses on deep value and special situations.[29] He is the chief investment officer of the fund..

On Saint Patrick's Day 2014, Lemelson shorted the stock of World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE), questioning the value of the company's brand.[1][30] Lemelson initially shorted the stock above $30 per share, stating "the stock is fairly valued at no more than $11.88 a share,"[30] and went on to say he believed the company had made material misrepresentations about both its performance and operating model[31] The share price subsequently fell below $12 per share, with the company losing over a quarter of its $1.52 billion market value.[32][33] Lemelson then went long the stock, calling for new leadership or a sale of the company.[34]

In late April, 2014 Lemelson announced he was building a stake in the semiconductor and LED equipment maker Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NASDAQ: KLIC), saying the company was "absurdly" undervalued. In a letter to the company's CEO Lemelson said he had amassed a stake of nearly 1% and planned to continue buying. Following his commentary, shares rose nearly 10% on triple the normal trading volume.[33]

By late 2015, Lemelson's largest investment was in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).[1][35]

Lemelson's activities led the Amvona Fund to be ranked in three months during 2013–14 among the world's top performing hedge funds,[36][37] and by mid 2015 the company reported a net return of 150 percent since its launch.[1]

His investment research and analysis has been cited in The Wall Street Journal,[38] USA Today,[39][40] New York Post,[41] Fox Business Network[21] and The Street,[42] but has led to conflicting views, with The Motley Fool characterizing Lemelson as "especially harsh,"[31][43] while Benzinga compared his firm to Smith Barney.[34]

Lemelson was featured in the documentary series Wahl Street for his role as a mentor to actor Mark Wahlberg. The series premiered on HBO Max[57] on April 15, 2021, to mixed reviews that were critical of the characters, including Lemelson.[2][3][58] Executive producer Archie Gips later compared Lemelson to John Forbes Nash Jr.[59]

Lemelson, who collects motorcycles, lives in Southborough, Massachusetts and is married to Theodora Anjeza Lemelson.[7] As of 2015, he had four children.[1]

In December 2012 Lemelson founded The Lantern Foundation, a non-profit foundation focused on supporting religious, charitable and educational causes with a special focus on those associated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Since its inception, he has served as its president.[6]

Lemelson has described charitable giving as "The supreme capital allocation decision".[1]

• Emmanuel Lemelson on Twitter
• Amvona
• Lemelson Capital Management