Luana Lopes Lara has an estimated $2.6 billion fortune, but becoming a billionaire has barely altered her daily routine. The 30-year-old Kalshi co-founder and chief operating officer still works 12 to 14 hours a day and rarely takes time off.
The Brazilian entrepreneur, whom Forbes identifies as the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire, says building the prediction-market platform remains her priority. Her occasional indulgence is a better meal.
“When I say it didn’t change my life much, it’s because I think that I’ve always been laser-focused” on building Kalshi, Lara told Fortune Daily’s Ellie Austin.
“Maybe I’ll get a fancier lunch once in a while because I want to eat nice.”
Lara grew up in a middle-class family and trained to become a professional ballerina in Brazil before entering technology. She later studied computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Forbes estimates that Lara and fellow co-founder Tarek Mansour each own roughly 12 percent of Kalshi. She first became a billionaire in December 2025, aged 29. Her estimated fortune subsequently doubled as investors increased the company’s valuation.
Despite that financial leap, Lara finds her billionaire status difficult to fully comprehend. She views her wealth and Kalshi’s valuation as indicators of progress rather than defining features of her life.
She occasionally pays for meals with friends and took her family to the Vatican for Christmas Mass. Beyond those experiences, her attention remains on the business rather than expensive luxuries.
Kalshi lets users trade contracts linked to event outcomes, including elections, sporting competitions and economic decisions.
Its valuation rose from $2 billion in June 2025 to $11 billion that December. A further funding round brought the figure to $22 billion in May 2026.
Reuters reported in September that Kalshi was discussing another $1 billion fundraising round at approximately $40 billion. Potential investors included Tiger Global Management and Dragoneer Investment Group.
Those discussions concerned a proposed transaction, rather than a confirmed funding round. Kalshi declined to comment on the Reuters report.
Kalshi’s expansion has also brought scrutiny from several US states. They argue that its sports-related contracts constitute illegal gambling.
The company maintains that it operates a federally regulated financial exchange rather than a traditional sportsbook.
“We don’t make money like a sportsbook,” Lara told Fortune Daily.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission designated Kalshi as a contract market in November 2020. That federal status sits at the centre of its regulatory position.
Lara argues that prediction markets generate useful forecasts by combining information from people willing to back their views financially.
Mansour, Kalshi’s co-founder and chief executive, has said the dispute over regulatory authority could ultimately reach the US Supreme Court.
