Telegram founder Pavel Durov says he’s dividing his $17b fortune among his 106 children
(FILES)Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram speaks onstage during day one of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015 at Pier 70 on September 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California. – French police arrested Telegram chief executive Pavel Durov on August 24, 2024 at an airport near Paris under a warrant for offences related to the popular messaging app, officials said. The Franco-Russian billionaire, 39, was detained at Le Bourget airport north of the French capital on Saturday evening, one of the officials told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. (Photo by Steve JENNINGS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov says he’s splitting his fortune, estimated at $17.1 billion, between over 106 children.
In an interview with Le Point, the 40-year-old billionaire revealed he has six biological children and has donated sperm anonymously in 12 countries, fathering over 100 more.
“I want to specify that I make no difference between my children: There are those who were conceived naturally and those who come from my sperm donations,” Durov said. “They are all my children and will all have the same rights!”
He said none of them will access their inheritance until June 19, 2055: 30 years from the date of the interview.
“I want them to live like normal people, to build themselves up alone… not to be dependent on a bank account.”
Durov said he decided to allocate his estate now due to the “risks” of his work, a nod to ongoing legal issues.
He was arrested in France in August 2024 and charged with allegedly allowing Telegram to host illegal content.
He remains in France under judicial supervision but insists: “Nothing has ever been proven showing that I am, even for a second, guilty of anything.”
“Defending freedoms earns you many enemies, including within powerful states,” he added.