Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of the messaging platform Telegram, has announced plans to leave his estimated £17 billion fortune to the more than 100 children he has fathered. The tech mogul, 40, has six children with three different partners and is believed to have around 100 additional offspring resulting from sperm donations he made to numerous couples across 12 countries.
In a recent interview with France’s Le Point magazine, Durov revealed that he considers all his children—whether conceived naturally or through sperm donations—equally deserving of his fortune. He explained that he sees no difference between those born of his own relationships and those from his donation efforts.
Durov is the founder of Telegram, which has more than one billion monthly active users worldwide. His fortune is estimated at up to £17 billion, cementing his status as a key player in the tech world. Durov has been compared to other tech giants like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk due to his influential role in the digital space.
Born in Russia, Durov spent part of his childhood in Italy before returning to St Petersburg, where his father worked as a scholar in ancient Roman literature. Durov’s entrepreneurial career began with the creation of VK, a social media platform often dubbed the ‘Facebook of Russia’. However, after refusing to hand over data on Ukrainian protesters to Russian authorities, he was forced to relinquish control of VK and relocate abroad in 2014. He later founded Telegram as a secure communication platform, inspired by the lack of privacy in Russian social media.
Currently based in Dubai, Durov holds dual French and Emirati citizenship. He remains the sole owner of Telegram, despite facing legal challenges in France, including an investigation into criminal activities related to his app.
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