Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Plans to Leave Billions to His Many Children
Pavel Durov, the enigmatic founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, has revealed a surprising and extensive plan for his multi-billion-dollar fortune: he intends to bequeath it to his more than 100 biological children. This unconventional inheritance strategy was shared in a recent wide-ranging interview, offering a rare glimpse into the personal life and future plans of the tech billionaire.
Durov, whose net worth is estimated by various reports to be between $13.9 billion and potentially nearing $20 billion, stated that he recently drafted his will. According to the plan outlined, his considerable wealth will be distributed among all his biological offspring.
An Unconventional Family
The 40-year-old entrepreneur clarified that he has six children conceived naturally with three different partners. In addition to these, he is the biological father of at least another 100 children through anonymous sperm donations he began making 15 years ago. He shared that the clinic where he donated informed him that over 100 babies had been conceived as a result in 12 different countries. The clinic reportedly encouraged him to continue donating, citing “high quality donor material” and presenting it as a “civic duty.”
Durov emphasized that he makes no distinction between his children, regardless of how they were conceived. “They are all my children, and will all have the same rights!” he stated, motivated by a desire to prevent conflict among them after his passing. If his fortune were divided equally among, for example, 106 children, each could stand to inherit roughly $131 million to $161 million.
The 30-Year Waiting Period
However, there’s a significant condition attached to this vast inheritance: the children will not gain access to their shares for 30 years from the date of his interview, which was June 19, 2025. Durov explained his reasoning for this lengthy delay.
“I want them to live like normal people, to build themselves up alone, to learn to trust themselves, to be able to create, not to be dependent on a bank account,” he told the French magazine Le Point. This delay is intended to ensure his children develop independence and self-reliance rather than immediately relying on inherited wealth. Drafting his will now, he suggested, was prompted by the inherent risks associated with his work.
Personal Life and Public Challenges
Beyond his family and financial plans, Durov also shared details about his rigorous lifestyle, which includes a daily workout routine of 300 push-ups and 300 squats. He maintains a strict diet, avoiding alcohol, coffee, tea, and sugar, and is not a smoker.
Durov’s life has also been marked by public controversies and legal challenges. French authorities have brought charges against him, alleging that Telegram is used for criminal activities, specifically the propagation of child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking. Durov strongly denies these accusations, calling them “absurd.” He maintains that the use of Telegram by criminals, among other services, does not make the platform’s operators guilty. In August 2024, he was reportedly arrested in Paris upon arriving from Azerbaijan and held for questioning for an extended period before facing potential charges or release, ultimately returning to his Dubai residence with a reported travel ban.
Other past controversies include accusations from the mother of three of his children regarding alleged withheld financial support and other matters, as well as notable clashes with the Russian government related to his previous social network, VKontakte.
Durov has also commented on his extensive family in the past, including a July 2024 Telegram post where he expressed surprise at fathering over 100 children despite being unmarried and preferring to live alone. In that post, he also mentioned considering making his DNA open-source to potentially help his biological children connect and stated he had no regrets about being a donor.
With Telegram now boasting nearly a billion users and known for its strong encryption and privacy stance, Durov continues to navigate the complexities of running a global tech platform while making equally global and complex personal decisions about his legacy.
