In the middle of Brazil’s busy shopping scene, there is a huge replica of the Statue of Liberty. It is a symbol of ambition and unapologetic capitalism. This famous symbol isn’t in New York’s harbor; it’s the front of a Havan department store, which was built by Luciano Hang, one of Brazil’s most controversial billionaires. Hang was born into a poor family in the textile mills of Santa Catarina. He turned a small fabric store into a national powerhouse, making a fortune of $2.1 billion and becoming a lightning rod for controversy. Havan wants to open 200 megastores by the end of the year. Hang’s story shows how risky it can be to be an entrepreneur and how close success and scandal can be.
From Factory Floors to Fabric Dreams
On October 11, 1962, Luciano Hang was born in Brusque, a small industrial town in the state of Santa Catarina. The sound of textile factories shaped daily life there. Luciano was the son of mill workers, so he knew how to work hard from a young age. He worked in the same factories that his family did. “I started as a factory worker and learned the value of hard work the hard way,” Hang has said many times in motivational posts on his social media empire. He went to Blumenau Regional University to get a degree because he didn’t have a silver spoon in his mouth. He put all of his energy into turning sweat equity into something more lasting.
Hang and his partner Vanderlei de Limas started Havan in 1986 when Hang was only 24 years old. The store was only 45 square meters in size. What started as a small fabric store quickly grew, taking advantage of Brazil’s growing middle class and Hang’s ability to find new markets. By the early 1990s, Havan had grown into a full-line department store that sold everything from clothes to home goods at very low prices. Hang’s simple philosophy was, “Reinvest everything and live like a poor owner.” This frugality led to quick growth, with the chain putting physical megastores ahead of e-commerce. This was a risky move in the digital age, but it paid off big time.
Making the Havan Juggernaut
Under Hang’s strict rule, Havan became known for its shows. Each store has a 20-meter-tall Statue of Liberty knockoff, which is a nod to American-style consumerism that Hang loves. “It’s about freedom and opportunity,” he says in ads that have gone viral. In them, he plays the chain’s loudmouth pitchman, and his Hawaiian shirts and thick Brusque accent have won him millions of fans. By 2019, Havan had 126 stores in 17 states and wanted to open 145 more that year alone. The network now has 175 megastores in 23 states and the Federal District, covering more than 139 cities and employing tens of thousands of people.
Hang is good at diversifying in more than just retail. He owns hydroelectric plants, gas stations, a real estate company, and investment funds, such as the mysterious Fundo Davos, which is run by top investors like the Safra family. Havan made R$4 billion in taxes in 2024 and expects to make R$18 billion in revenue in 2025. That’s a huge R$50 million a day. Forbes’ 2025 Billionaires list puts him at number 1763. His wealth comes from the fact that physical retail is still popular in a country where online shopping is still behind. Hang’s plan to grow is still aggressive: by December 2025, they want to have 200 stores, which will create 150,000 direct and indirect jobs. They don’t plan to open stores in other countries anytime soon. “I could live anywhere, but I bet on Brazil,” he said in August, putting an end to rumors that people were leaving because of the economy.
But Havan’s rise hasn’t been without problems. A 2021 report from the Brazilian Intelligence Agency pointed out problems with Hang’s wealth accumulation. It said that a 2000 thesis showed that Havan’s fixed costs were five times higher than its turnover, which made people question whether the company would be able to make money in the long run. Hang keeps preaching reinvestment as the “formula for wealth,” and that’s what has made Havan go from being a small textile company to a retail powerhouse.
A Politician Who Loves Free Markets
Hang’s impact goes beyond the numbers. He was a member of the MDB party until 2018, when he became a vocal supporter of free markets. Bloomberg called him “arguably Jair Bolsonaro’s most passionate booster in the business community.” During Bolsonaro’s 2018 campaign, Hang hosted high-profile fundraisers, like a breakfast with 62 Jewish community leaders, using his connections to media mogul Silvio Santos to get prime-time sponsorships on SBT. His social media skills—5.4 million Instagram followers and 592,000 LinkedIn followers—boost pro-Bolsonaro messages by mixing business advice with patriotic zeal.
People have been angry about this activism. Hang’s Twitter account was suspended in 2021 after he posted anti-vaccine messages about COVID-19 shots for kids. This was part of a larger investigation into his role in spreading false information about the election through WhatsApp. The riots in BrasÃlia on January 8, 2023, when Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings, left a lasting mark. In August 2022, the Supreme Federal Court told the Federal Police to raid Hang’s properties and freeze his assets and accounts because they thought he was planning a coup. Hang called it “political persecution” and promised to fight for free speech. Recycled videos of him in pro-Bolsonaro motociatas sparked online debates as recently as July 2025, showing how long he has been involved in politics.
Controversies in Personal Life and Life
Hang lives a normal life in Brusque with his wife Andrea Benvenutti, whom he has been married to since 1995, and their three kids. In 2021, tragedy struck when he and Andrea got COVID-19. They both survived, but Hang became a vocal skeptic of the pandemic, giving oxygen to hospitals in Manaus while questioning vaccines. His oldest son, Leonardo, has taken a different path. He left Havan to turn Fibra Fisio into Brazil’s largest sports rehab center by 2025. The center opened in 2021 and is 2,500 m² in size.
There are still problems. In September 2025, influencer Felipe Neto won a defamation case against Hang over tweets from 2021 that made fun of a death certificate. This got Neto’s R$15,000 fine thrown out. Critics, including comparisons to Elon Musk in the media, point out ethical problems, such as labor investigations and “virtual lynchings” that Hang says he has to deal with. But Hang loves the spotlight; his “Véio da Havan” character is a mix of folksy charm and a fighting spirit.
A Legacy That Changes
Luciano Hang is at a crossroads as 2025 begins. Havan’s new Paranaguá megastore, which is 95% finished and has 350,000 items, is a perfect example of his tireless drive. The founder and local leaders visited it in person. His empire isn’t slowing down; it’s expected to make R$20 billion by 2026 and pay taxes of almost R$6 billion. But in a divided Brazil, Hang’s mix of business and belief gets as much praise as anger.
Luciano Hang is the personification of the unfiltered, raw pursuit of the Brazilian dream, from Brusque’s mills to national megastores. Whether you love him or hate him, his plan—invest ruthlessly, speak boldly, and grow fearlessly—is still a masterclass in capitalist grit. He says, “Problems come, but action wins.” That’s a lesson to remember in times of uncertainty.
