Havan’s Owner Tops Brazil’s Retail Wealth Ranking
BRAZIL · WEALTH
Key Facts
- —The top Luciano Hang of Havan, at R$11.9 billion.
- —The list Forbes Brasil’s ranking of 22 Brazilian retail billionaires, worth R$53.6 billion combined.
- —Behind him Michael Klein of Casas Bahia in second, Flávio Rocha of Riachuelo in fourth, Ilson Mateus of Grupo Mateus in fifth.
- —Further back Fernando Trajano of Magazine Luiza at eleventh.
- —The irony Casas Bahia entered judicial recovery in August with R$17.3 billion of debt.
- —On the figure Secondary outlets cite R$11.4 billion and R$12.6 billion. Forbes’s own figure is R$11.9 billion.
The richest man in Brazilian retail runs a chain of stores with a Statue of Liberty outside. The second richest owns a company in judicial recovery.
Forbes Brasil’s 2026 ranking of retail fortunes puts Luciano Hang of Havan first at R$11.9 billion, ahead of the families behind Casas Bahia, Riachuelo, Grupo Mateus and Magazine Luiza.
The Ranking
Forbes Brasil counts 22 Brazilian retail billionaires with a combined R$53.6 billion.
Luciano Hang of Havan leads at R$11.9 billion. Michael Klein of the Casas Bahia group is second, Flávio Rocha of Riachuelo and Guararapes fourth, Ilson Mateus Rodrigues of Grupo Mateus fifth, and Fernando Trajano of Magazine Luiza eleventh.
Secondary outlets have cited R$11.4 billion and R$12.6 billion for Hang. Forbes’s own published figure is R$11.9 billion.
What the Order Shows
The ranking is a snapshot of a decade of divergence in Brazilian retail. Havan is a physical-store department chain in the interior, privately held, with no listed equity to reprice.
The listed names above it in the old rankings have spent that decade being marked down. Magazine Luiza was one of the most celebrated equity stories on the B3 and has given back most of that valuation. Casas Bahia entered judicial recovery in August 2026 owing R$17.3 billion to roughly 28,000 creditors.
A private company that never listed has therefore overtaken listed peers not by growing faster but by not being repriced.
The Limits of the Exercise
Valuations of privately held retail chains are estimates. Forbes builds them from revenue multiples against listed comparables, and the listed comparables in Brazilian retail have been unstable.
That instability cuts both ways. The same multiple compression that pushed Magazine Luiza down should, applied consistently, push a privately held peer down too.
The ranking is best read as a directional statement about who has held value in Brazilian retail rather than as a precise measurement of anybody’s net worth.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who tops the ranking?
Luciano Hang of Havan, at R$11.9 billion, according to Forbes Brasil.
Who else is on it?
Michael Klein of Casas Bahia second, Flávio Rocha of Riachuelo fourth, Ilson Mateus of Grupo Mateus fifth and Fernando Trajano of Magazine Luiza eleventh.
How large is the list?
22 Brazilian retail billionaires with a combined R$53.6 billion.
Why the different figures for Hang?
Secondary outlets cite R$11.4 billion and R$12.6 billion. Forbes’s own figure is R$11.9 billion.
How reliable is it?
Private company valuations are estimates built from listed comparables, and Brazilian retail multiples have been unstable.
Sources: Forbes Brasil, Tribuna de Noticias.
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