Tarek Mansour is an American entrepreneur and financial technologist born in California and raised in Lebanon. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which he completed in 2018.

Mansour's early career involved high-stakes positions in both finance and technology, including roles as an Equity Derivatives Analyst at Goldman Sachs and a Global Macro Trader at Citadel. His experience at these firms identified a massive market gap: the inability for institutions and individuals to trade directly on real-world events.

• Core Company: Kalshi (Prediction market).
• Education: MIT graduate and Y Combinator alumnus.
• Origins: Former high-frequency trader who pioneered regulated 'event contracts'.

Tarek Mansour’s career is defined by his successful effort to legalize and institutionalize prediction markets in the United States. In 2018, he co-founded Kalshi with Luana Lopes Lara.

Under his leadership as CEO, Kalshi became the first platform to receive approval from the CFTC to operate as a regulated 'Designated Contract Market'. He led the company through a landmark legal battle in 2024 that allowed Kalshi to offer contracts on U.S. congressional elections, a move that fundamentally changed the landscape of political betting. By early 2026, the firm was valued at $5 billion, cementing Mansour’s status as a billionaire.

• Role: CEO and Co-founder of Kalshi.
• Strategic Achievement: Architect of the first federally regulated prediction exchange in the U.S..