Meet Luana Lopes Lara, the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire and Kalshi’s co-founderHaving traded professional ballet for MIT, the Brazilian entrepreneur took over the Forbes wealth title from Lucy Guo and Taylor SwiftPrediction platform Kalshi, which allows users to bet on real-life events such as sports games, entertainment awards and even political elections, was sued by the state of New York in late July.Letitia James, the state’s attorney general, alleged that the platform, valued at US$22 billion in May, facilitated gambling addiction, and the site’s offerings are “quintessentially gambling”. Washington state has also ordered Kalshi to shut down.While prediction markets have been on the rise, their future is now uncertain due to the recent legal woes.An advertisement for prediction market platform Kalshi in Washington. Photo: AP PhotoLuana Lopes Lara, who co-founded Kalshi with Tarek Mansour in 2018, was named by Forbes in December 2025 as the youngest self-made woman billionaire, surpassing Scale AI co-founder Lucy Guo and global pop superstar Taylor Swift. Lopes Lara’s net worth, as of August 21, stands at US$2.6 billion, according to Forbes.So, who is the entrepreneur behind the prediction market platform that is making headlines? Here’s what we know.What is Luana Lopes Lara’s background?Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara (first from right) with her parents and sister Cristiana Lara. Photo: @luana_lopes_lara/InstagramLuana Lopes Lara was born in May 1996 in Brazil to an electrical engineer father and a mathematics teacher mother. She has an older sister named Cristiana, who received her PhD from Carnegie Mellon University and is currently a principal research scientist at Amazon.She graduated from MITLuana Lopes Lara excelled academically in school. Photo: @luana_lopes_lara/InstagramLopes Lara has always had a profound interest in mathematics. During her secondary school years, she took part in academic competitions, winning gold at the Brazilian Astronomy Olympiad and bronze at the Santa Catarina Mathematics Olympiad.Luana Lopes Lara co-founded Kalshi with MIT classmate Tarek Mansour. Photo: @luana_lopes_lara/Instagram