Luis Palau Jr. was born November 27, 1934 in Maschwitz, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has five younger sisters and one stepbrother. His father, a construction executive, died when Palau was 10. Within a matter of years after his father's death, due to poor financial management by relatives, Palau, his siblings, and his widow mother were left nearly destitute. Palau was forced to leave his education at a British-run boarding school and began working as the sole-provider for the family at a bank in Córdoba, Argentina.