Forbes Ranking: who is Luana Lopes Lara, the youngest millionaire in the world and how she made her fortune of 1.3 billion dollars

The magazine Forbes highlighted the successful career of Luana Lopes Laraa young woman brazilian of 29 yearswho went from being a talented ballet dancer to become co-founder of a computer company that broke all records. The story of «the world’s youngest self-made billionaire«, as defined by the prestigious publication.

His mother, a mathematics teacher, and his father, an electrical engineer, were his great inspiration. Since she was a child she had a double vocation, on the one hand the world of classical dance, and on the other her desire to to be «the next Steve Jobs.»

During high school he trained in ballet and attended the demanding program of Brazil’s Bolshoi Theater School every day. When he got home he dedicated himself to his other side and studied to compete in academic competitions.

He won the gold medal at the Brazilian Astronomy Olympiad and the bronze at the Santa Catarina Mathematics Olympiad. After graduating from high school, she went nine months to work as a professional dancer in the classic «Swan Lake» in Austria.

From dancer to tech leader: the billionaire «self made«youngest in the world

At the age of 18 he began his path towards his other passion and traveled to the United States to begin his career in computer engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (WITH).

Luana Lopes Lara as a classical dancer. (Photo: Instagram @luana_lopes_lara)

At university he struck up a friendship with Tarek Mansourwho grew up in Lebanon, and they began to form a duo in practical jobs. They were part of the same group of international students and both sat in the front row in classes.

In 2018 they were selected for an internship at Five Rings Capital, in New York, and shared the day-to-day work routine. It was in the midst of that experience that they came up with the idea of ​​»create a prediction market«.

«We saw that most of the stock market operations occur when people have a vision of the future and then they try to find a way to translate it into the markets,» Lopes Lara explained to Forbes.

She graduated as a computer engineer from MIT. (Photo: Instagram @luana_lopes_lara)

Together with Mansour they created a project and applied to the startup accelerator Y Combinator, where they were accepted in 2019. A long legal battle began there, because the rules and legislation of prediction markets had gray areas that made it difficult to define the steps to follow.

They needed federal approval to operateand contacted more than 40 law firms. All the lawyers who consulted refused to take the case.

They told them they were too young and dismissed their burgeoning company as a small startup run by two teenagers.

«We took on a huge risk. We spent two years without a single product, without being able to launch or create anything, and if they didn’t regulate us, the company would simply melt down,» Lopes Lara recalled in the interview with Forbes.

Luana Lopes Lara and Tarek Mansour, co-founders of Kalshi. (Photo: Instagram @luana_lopes_lara)

«We really wanted to do things right, because our vision was to build the largest financial platform in the world. Under no circumstances could we accept operating informally,» he added.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the young woman was based in London, and Mansour in Beirut. From their homes they continued searching for a lawyer to guide them, and finally they found the recommendation they needed.

«There are few better trainings to overcome a refusal and move forward than being a professional dancer,» Luana commented. His perseverance and serenity were key in the process, full of uncertainty and crossed by the global quarantine context.

In November 2020 They obtained authorization from the CFTC (U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission) to operate as a designated contract market (DCM).

Kalshi, the company that quintupled its assets

«Kalshi» is the name they chose for their market prediction companywhich means «everything» in Arabic, a symbol of what this project represented for the young duo. And they were right, because it changed their lives completely.

With family: Luana Lopes Lara with her parents and sister. (Photo: Instagram @luana_lopes_lara)

«Kalshi allows its users to bet on the results of future events: elections, sports matches, and even events linked to pop culture,» they describe on their website.

Its forte is sports betting, with 90% user participation in that topic. But there are other proposals, with a diversity that similar companies do not offer, and that is the added value of the company.

Questions like «Will Donald Trump release any of Epstein’s files?«; «Who will be the next winner of the United States presidential elections?»; «Will Bitcoin exceed US$100,000 again this year?»; are some of the questions where participants invest the most money.

Since they obtained legal approval, the business began to grow at an unprecedented rate, with volume of operations that grew by 1000% compared to the previous year. It currently exceeds US$ 1,000 million weekly.

Luana Lopes Lara has a personal wealth of $1.3 billion. (Photo: Instagram @luana_lopes_lara)

In just six years the startup became worth US$11 billion. They closed agreements with platforms such as Robinhood and Webull, and alliances with companies ranging from the National Hockey League to the online platform StockX.

In January, Donald Trump Jr.son of the president of the United States, joined Kalshi’s advisory board, and that gave them national visibility.

In less than six months the heritage net of the co-founders, who retain 12% of the company, quintupled. Each one currently has a fortuna staff of US$1.3 billion.

Although they still face challenges at the regulatory level due to subsequent lawsuits, young people continue to lead in the field with their company. Lopes Lara’s life story caught the attention of Forbes because he had no previous inheritance or family lineage linked to computing.

Lucy Guo’s reaction when she found out that she was dethroned in the Forbes ranking

Her trips to Europe as a dancer, the financial and emotional support of her family to guarantee her academic training, and her first work experiences were fundamental in getting closer to her dream.

At 29 years old, Luana Lopes Lara became an icon in the Forbes ranking publication, as the youngest billionaire in the world. moved to Lucy Guo31, co-founder of Scale AI – the Artificial Intelligence company valued at 25 billion dollars – who last April had ousted Taylor Swift.

Lucy Guo, the 31-year-old businesswoman, is American and the daughter of Chinese immigrants. Photo: Instagram

Until just a few hours, Guo had the throne of the list of «self-made billionaires» for having built his fortune through his own effort and entrepreneurship. The young woman, considered a programming ace, was one of the first to react on the X social network.

«¡Genial! It happened sooner than I expected! I love seeing women succeed. Congratulations to this incredible girl, Luana Lopes Lara!» he expressed.

«More successful women equals more investment in the ecosystem, and that translates to more successful women. Let’s keep the flywheel moving!» Guo projected.