THE billionaire founder of Telegram has made a new will – splitting his £17bn fortune among his 106 kids.
Pavel Durov, 40, says he’ll treat all his children equally, whether born via sperm donation or “naturally”.
The self-exiled Russian tycoon told Le Point magazine that none of his children will be getting their hands on the cash for the next 30 years.
Durov expressed his desire for people to live independently and cultivate trust in themselves instead of relying on a bank account.
As the creator of Telegram messenger, renowned for its dedication to privacy and encrypted communication, Durov oversees a vast user base exceeding one billion monthly active users globally.
Dubbed the Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk of Russia, the tech tycoon has an estimated net worth of £17 billion.
His decision to write a will stems from feeling vulnerable due to rejection of requests to disclose user information to Russian and Western intelligence agencies.
Durov said: “My work involves risks – defending freedoms earns you many enemies, including within powerful states.
“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.”
Discussing his alleged 106 kids, 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.”
Durov said he has six children, for whom he is the “official father, with three different partners.
“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.”
He added: “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.”
Durov is also a French citizen and currently lives in France, where he is under investigation.
He was arrested last year after flying from Azerbaijan to Paris with girlfriend Yulia Vavilova, 24, a gamer and crypto coach.
Authorities claimed Telegram’s lack of moderation, limited cooperation with law enforcement and features like disposable numbers and cryptocurrency make it an accomplice in drug trafficking, paedophilia and fraud.
When Durov refused to hand over data on Ukrainian protesters to Russian security agencies, he was effectively forced to give up his company and move abroad in 2014.
He said the French investigation into his affairs was “completely absurd”, adding, “Just because criminals use our messaging service among many others doesn’t make those who run it criminals.”
He said: “Telegram staff can’t see or read user messages.
“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 Russia and Ukrainian sides in the war.
What is Telegram?
TELEGRAM is a cloud-based instant messaging app that was launched in 2013 by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai Durov.
Telegram became widely known for its strong emphasis on privacy and security, offering end-to-end encrypted messaging, channels for broadcasting to large audiences, and features including self-destructing messages.
Telegram’s commitment to privacy has made it popular with users around the world, but it has also attracted criticism from governments, which claim that the app is used by criminals and terrorists to communicate without detection.
