Have you ever stopped to think about who Luciano Hang really is? That guy who became a meme on the internet as the 'Old Man from Havan'? Well, his story is much more interesting than it seems.

It all started in Brusque, Santa Catarina, on October 11, 1962. Luciano Hang was born into a family of textile workers, no millionaire inheritance. In fact, he faced dyslexia during childhood and only learned to read and write later. But that didn't stop him - he later studied Data Processing and started thinking differently about business.

The entrepreneurial spirit appeared very early. Even in school, he was already selling things, and at 17, he joined the Fabric Factory Carlos Renaux where his parents worked. By 21, he bought the Santa Cruz Weaving Mill. Basically, the kid already had a business vision while most of his classmates were still deciding what to do with their lives.

In 1986, Luciano Hang and Vanderlei de Lima opened a small fabric store that led to Havan - the name came from combining their two names. But Hang bought out his partner's share and ran the business alone. That's when the magic began: the store turned into departments, then into a chain. They opened the first branch in Curitiba in 1995, entered e-commerce in 2003, and by 2017, they already had 100 stores across Brazil.

Who is this Luciano Hang who accumulated US$3.2 billion? One of the largest retailers in the country, with stakes in shopping malls, energy distributors, and media. Havan has never gone public on the stock exchange, despite speculation about an IPO over the years. In 2021, there was talk of a valuation of R$45 billion, but nothing materialized.

What really made the guy famous was his presence on social media starting in 2017. He began appearing in company campaigns, became a meme with the nickname 'Old Man from Havan,' and you know what? He himself acknowledged that it became the brand's best marketing strategy. It’s also impossible to ignore that Luciano Hang is quite politically active - he publicly supported Bolsonaro in the 2018 and 2022 elections, which generated a lot of controversy.

But in summary: who is Luciano Hang is basically a guy who started from scratch, turned a fabric business into one of the largest retail chains in Brazil, amassed billions, and became an internet celebrity. Stores with facades resembling the White House and Statue of Liberty became trademarks. Controversies aside, the 'Old Man from Havan' is definitely one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Brazilian retail.