Telegram Founder’s 100+ Kids to Wait 30 Years for $17B Inheritance
Of course, Pavel Durov isn’t content with just building a global messaging empire—now he’ll have enough heirs to populate a small nation. In a recent sit-down with French political magazine Le Point, the 40-year-old Telegram prodigy confessed to fathering upwards of 100 children over 15 years of sperm donations. Despite having six “official” kids with three partners, Durov insists that dozens more conceived via donor services are just as legitimate—and they’ll all stake a claim on his multi-billion-dollar fortune. Translation courtesy of BBC revealed he’s eager to keep the peace among his brood, promising equal rights across the board once they turn 30.
According to a TMZ report and further backed by Forbes’s $17 billion net worth estimate (BBC pegs it at $13.9 billion), Durov’s fortune is hardly in short supply. His unconventional inheritance twist? No child sees a dime until three decades after birth. Why the delay? Durov argues he wants his offspring “to build themselves up alone, to learn to trust themselves” without the safety net of a gargantuan bank account. Translation in Le Point quotes him lamenting that immediate wealth risks turning beneficiaries into dependents rather than creators.
Durov first revealed his ever-growing family via a Telegram post in 2023, confessing he stepped into the sperm-donor role to help a friend in need. When medical professionals admitted scarce “high-quality donor material” was desperately sought, he signed on as a regular contributor. To date, couples spanning 12 countries have welcomed Durov’s biological contributions into their homes, though he’s kept their identities—and his role—to a minimum public footprint… because what billionaire doesn’t love a low-profile flex?
He makes clear that there’s no hierarchy among his progeny: city-dwelling tech entrepreneurs, small-town teachers, startup dreamers or stay-at-home parents all stand equal once their clock hits 30. It reads like a Silicon Valley startup pitch, but with diaper bags instead of boardrooms. The rulebook? None of his heirs can tap the family trust early, ensuring they chase their own ambitions first. I told you so.
In the grand tradition of billionaires with eccentric family trees, Durov’s blueprint raises eyebrows, questions and the occasional sympathy nod for future trust administrators. Will these centi-kids forge meaningful legacies on their own? Stay tuned, because the next 30 years promise enough drama to fill a lifetime’s worth of Telegram chats. And that, dear reader, is why we can’t have nice things.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and Le Point, BBC, TMZ, Forbes
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
