New Delhi: 29-year-old Luana Lopes Lara has become the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire, dethroning Scale AI cofounder Lucy Guo who succeeded Taylor Swift in April. With her prediction-market startup Kalshi valued at about US$11 billion, Lara’s personal stake has increased to roughly US$1.3 billion making her the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire.
According to a Forbes report, Kalshi raised $1 billion in a fundraising round. The financing has pushed both cofounders Lara and Tarek Mansour into the billionaire ranks. Each now holds an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.
Luana Lopes Lara Early life and education
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Lara was born in Brazil and trained as a professional ballerina at the prestigious Bolshoi Theatre School. She also excelled academically inspired by her mother, a math teacher and father, an electrical engineer. According to Forbes reports, she won a Gold medal in the Brazilian Astronomy Olympiad Bronze medal in the Santa Catarina Mathematics Olympiad.
Lara moved to the United States to pursue higher education. She graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in computer science.
Luana Lopes Lara Cofounded Kalshi
Lara cofounded Kalshi with her MIT classmate Tarek Mansour. They conceived the idea of Kalshi while walking back home to their intern apartments in the Financial District.
Kalshi allows users to bet on the outcome of future events such as elections, sports games and pop culture happenings. “We saw that most trading happens when people have some view about the future, and then try to find a way to put that in the markets,” Lopes Lara previously told Forbes.
The two pursued federal approval to operate as a designated contract market which involved considerable regulatory challenges and legal battles.
Luana Lopes Lara Estimated net worth
Kalshi’s valuation has skyrocketed, from $2 billion in June to $11 billion in December 2025 following a $1 billion fundraising round. This funding round pushed Lara and Mansour into the billionaire ranks. Lara owns an estimated 12% stake in Kalshi, giving her a personal net worth of approximately $1.3 billion.
