Omar Amanat
Encyclopedia
Omar S. Amanat is an American who has worked as an entrepreneur
in the online trading industry and in the media
industry.
After graduating from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1995, he worked for a year at the online trading firm Datek Online. Afterward, he moved to Texas and partnered with Philip Berber
on a prototype online trading system called Cyber-Block, before moving to New York to start Tradescape. In 2002, E*Trade acquired Tradescape for $276 million. As a result of his work in the online trading industry, he was named one of Wall Street's "Top Ten Most Influential Technologists".
Amanat worked as a spokesman for Bridges TV
before its debut, where he advocated for Muslims to undo negative misperceptions of themselves in media. He co-founded a film fund affiliated with the United Nations
called the Alliance of Civilizations
Media Fund and is a highly influential shareholder of Summit Entertainment
via a 20% ownership stake in Peak Group Holdings. Brent Lang of The Wrap called him "the most powerful person in Hollywood you've never heard of". Amanat commissioned Harvard Medical School
to research the physiological effects on minorities who watch images of violence being perpetrated on fellow minorities.
He sits on the Board of Malaria No More
and has been an executive producer of films including The Visitor
, Darfur Now
, Smart People
, and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
in the online trading industry and in the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
industry.
After graduating from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1995, he worked for a year at the online trading firm Datek Online. Afterward, he moved to Texas and partnered with Philip Berber
Philip Berber
Philip Berber is an Irish millionaire and philanthropist. He is well known for his former company, CyBerCorp, which he sold for $488 million dollars in 2000 and his subsequent philanthropy through his and his wife's charity, A Glimmer of Hope Foundation.-Early life:Berber was born in Dublin in...
on a prototype online trading system called Cyber-Block, before moving to New York to start Tradescape. In 2002, E*Trade acquired Tradescape for $276 million. As a result of his work in the online trading industry, he was named one of Wall Street's "Top Ten Most Influential Technologists".
Amanat worked as a spokesman for Bridges TV
Bridges TV
Bridges TV is a Muslim television network headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Premiering nationally in November 2004, it was the first American Muslim television network to broadcast in the English language....
before its debut, where he advocated for Muslims to undo negative misperceptions of themselves in media. He co-founded a film fund affiliated with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
called the Alliance of Civilizations
Alliance of Civilizations
The Alliance of Civilizations is an initiative proposed by the Prime Minister of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, at the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations in 2005. It was co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan...
Media Fund and is a highly influential shareholder of Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
via a 20% ownership stake in Peak Group Holdings. Brent Lang of The Wrap called him "the most powerful person in Hollywood you've never heard of". Amanat commissioned Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
to research the physiological effects on minorities who watch images of violence being perpetrated on fellow minorities.
He sits on the Board of Malaria No More
Malaria No More
Malaria No More is a nonprofit organization that aims to end death caused by malaria in Africa by 2015. Malaria No More is known for its participation in the Idol Gives Back charity specials.- History :...
and has been an executive producer of films including The Visitor
The Visitor (2008 film)
The Visitor is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Thomas McCarthy and produced by Michael London and Mary Jane Skalski. Executive producers were Jeff Skoll and Omar Amanat...
, Darfur Now
Darfur Now
Darfur Now is a 2007 documentary film examining the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. It was written and directed by Ted Braun and produced by Don Cheadle, Mark Jonathan Harris and Cathy Schulman. Executive Producers were Jeffrey Skoll and Omar Amanat...
, Smart People
Smart People
Smart People is a 2008 American comedy-drama film starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church. The film was directed by Noam Murro, written by Mark Poirier and produced by Michael London, with Omar Amanat serving as executive producer.Smart People was filmed on...
, and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is a 1988 novel by American author Michael Chabon. The story is a coming-of-age tale set during the early 1980s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....
.