Russian billionaire Pavel Durov, 40, will leave his billions to his 106 children, many of whom he fathered through sperm donations, after deciding to treat all of them equally
Billionaire Telegram tycoon Pavel Durov, 40, has made a new will leaving his fortune to his 106-plus children. The exiled Russian tycoon is treating his offspring born “naturally” equally with those conceived from his sperm donations, he revealed.
But none of them will get any cash for 30 years because he said: “I want them to live like normal people, to build their lives on their own, to learn to trust themselves, to be able to create—not to be dependent on a bank account.” Durov – founder of Telegram messenger which has over a billion monthly active users around the world – has been dubbed the Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk of Russia. His fortune is estimated at up to £17 billion.
He has made his will because of the jeopardy he feels from his refusal to disclose user details to the secret services of Russia and Western countries, he told Le Point. “My work involves risks—defending freedoms earns you many enemies, including within powerful states,” he said. “I want to protect my children, but also the company I created, Telegram. I want Telegram to always remain true to the values I stand for.”
On his children, he said: “I decided that my children will not have access to my fortune until a period of 30 years has passed, starting from today.
“I want to make it clear that I make no distinction between my children: there are those who were conceived naturally, and those born from my sperm donations. They are all my children and they will all have the same rights. I don’t want them to tear each other apart after my death.”
He said he had six children for whom he was the “official father” – with three different partners. He added: “The others were born from my anonymous donations. The [Russian] clinic where I started donating sperm 15 years ago—to help a friend—told me that over 100 babies have been conceived this way in 12 countries.”
“I have a newborn son—I’m missing his first months. He doesn’t even have a passport because I wasn’t at his birth in Dubai.”
Currently under investigation in France, where he is a citizen, he said he seeks to start his day healthy. “I discipline myself and exercise—300 squats every morning,” he said.
“I don’t drink alcohol, coffee, or tea, I don’t smoke, and I stay away from sugar. In short, I avoid anything that can cause dependency. I enjoy being in cold water. Sometimes I swim in Finland or in Lake Geneva in the middle of winter—which can raise some eyebrows.”
Durov said the French investigation into his affairs was “completely absurd”. He denied he cooperated with the Russian authorities, or any others.
“Telegram staff can’t see or read user messages,” he said. “That’s why we’ve never revealed a single private message… If a court flags a user ID in a criminal case, we review metadata—IP address, phone number. That’s it.”
Telegram is widely used by both sides in the Russian-Ukrainian war. He was detained last year flying from Azerbaijan to Paris with girlfriend Yulia – or Yuli – Vavilova, 24, a gamer and crypto coach.
A Swiss-based Russian woman Irina Bolgar, 44, claimed publicly last year that Durov was the father of her three children, which he did not deny.