Inside a glass-walled office overlooking the Persian Gulf, Telegram founder Pavel Durov revealed a plan as bold as his vision for online privacy. In a June 2025 interview with French outlet Le Point, the elusive tech billionaire announced he will split his estimated $13.9–$17.1 billion fortune equally among all of his children over 100 in total, including six biological and more than 100 conceived via sperm donation across 12 countries.
“I don’t want them to tear each other apart after my death,”
said Durov in the exclusive interview.
“They are all my children and will have the same rights.”
At 40, Durov is no stranger to disruption—after all, he built Telegram, the encrypted messaging app with nearly 1 billion users worldwide, and previously co-founded VKontakte (VK), Russia’s largest social network. But this time, it’s not tech he’s shaking up. It’s the very definition of family, legacy, and wealth.
Durov confirmed he has six biological children with three partners and more than 100 others born through sperm donations since 2010 across 12 countries. That’s right: over 106 heirs, each poised to inherit around $131 million, if split equally based on his lower-end net worth.
The will, finalized just days ago, includes a 30-year clause: none of his children can access the inheritance before June 19, 2055. His reason? To ensure they “learn to trust themselves, to be able to create, not to be dependent on a bank account.”
It’s a radical experiment in inheritance. And it’s personal.
“It started when I helped a friend,”
Durov said of his first sperm donation. Later, a clinic told him more than 100 babies had been born from his donations. He embraced it, even offering free IVF services in 2024 through a partnership with Russia-based AltraVita clinic to expand his genetic legacy.
This announcement arrives just months after Durov’s August 2024 arrest in France, where he was charged with allegedly refusing to moderate criminal content on Telegram claims he has called “totally absurd.”
He was released under legal restrictions but allowed to return to Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered. French investigators also raised concerns over Telegram’s alleged ties to Russian intelligence claims Durov hasn’t publicly addressed.
His inheritance plan also stirs ethical debates. Some critics worry about the implications of mass sperm donation and the anonymity of donor-conceived children. Others question whether wealth should be so evenly spread regardless of biological connection. But Durov’s stance is clear: “They’re all my children.”
So what happens when, say, a 12-year-old in Toronto or Melbourne finds out they’re one of Durov’s heirs?
Durov’s story taps into deep questions: What defines a parent? Should wealth shape identity? Can delay foster character?
