There are such a lot of methods to earn large fortunes these days. For instance, numerous fortunate buyers have gotten obscenely wealthy due to early crypto investments. A handful of engaging performers are on tempo to high $100 million in earnings, due to OnlyFans. In June, a 24-year-old streamer paid $25 million for a Florida mansion. Some influencers make sufficient cash to purchase a brand-new Ferrari with only a single Instagram submit. Late final 12 months, British singer Lily Allen claimed she makes more cash promoting photos of her toes on-line than she does from her Spotify streams.
However if you wish to simply sit again (truly, lie down) and earn generational wealth (actually!), with out having to purchase crypto, get bare, stream endlessly on Twitch, construct and keep an Instagram following, or take photos of your toes… a brand new path has emerged!
In a revelation that surprised each the tech world and the general public, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has introduced that he plans to go away his total multi-billion-dollar fortune to his kids. Now, on the floor, a billionaire leaving his wealth to his kids is not all that gorgeous. However with Pavel, there is a twist. He would not simply have one or two children. He would not have three or 4. Pavel has fathered OVER 100 kids within the final 15 years. And no, he isn’t the world’s most spectacular lothario. He has fathered the vast majority of the youngsters via sperm donations. So in case you’re a girl of childbearing age, this can be your shot on the large time! Pun supposed!
(Picture by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP)
100 Youngsters… And Counting
In line with a current Wall Avenue Journal exposé, Pavel Durov’s sperm-donation operation is way extra organized, intentional, and ongoing than was beforehand understood. The Journal confirmed that Durov’s frozen sperm has been actively marketed via a personal Moscow fertility clinic referred to as AltraVita, which promoted his “biomaterial” to ladies below 37 and, in some instances, provided IVF procedures paid for by Durov himself. Former clinic workers described a gentle stream of well-educated, wholesome ladies drawn not simply by the free therapy, however by the concept of getting a toddler with a wildly profitable tech founder.
The WSJ additionally confirmed that Durov now publicly acknowledges having a minimum of 100 organic kids throughout greater than a dozen nations, along with the six kids he has had via relationships. Importantly, Durov has reiterated that each one of his organic kids, together with these conceived via nameless sperm donation, shall be entitled to an equal share of his inheritance as soon as they’ll set up shared DNA. In interviews and podcast appearances, he has even floated the concept of “open-sourcing” his genetic information sooner or later so his offspring can establish each other a long time from now. In different phrases, this is not a one-off eccentric experiment. It’s a long-term system, backed by actual cash, actual clinics, and a billionaire who seems absolutely dedicated to seeing it via.
No Entry for 30 Years
Durov’s web price is $14 billion. In a June 2025 interview with Le Level journal, Durov defined that none of his kids may have entry to their inheritance for the subsequent 30 years:
“I need them to dwell like regular folks, to construct themselves up alone, to study to belief themselves, to have the ability to create, to not be depending on a checking account.”
On the time of that interview, Pavel confirmed he had fathered 106 kids thus far. We do not know what number of extra he has welcomed within the final six months. Let’s simply assume he had zero new children to make this straightforward.
If his $14 billion fortune have been divided equally amongst these 106 heirs right this moment, every youngster would stand to obtain roughly $132 million.
However here is the place it will get attention-grabbing: below Durov’s will, the youngsters will not obtain a cent for 30 years. If his fortune grows at a modest common annual fee of 5%—roughly the long-term historic common for conservative investments—his web price could possibly be $60.5 billion by 2055. In that case, every youngster would ultimately inherit round $570 million. Or, if by then there are 200 half-siblings, every would get $285 million.
In fact, all of that is hypothetical. Durov insists he is not motivated by private wealth and claims a lot of his web price is on paper, tied to Telegram’s potential market worth moderately than liquid belongings. Nonetheless, the maths presents a putting glimpse into simply how large this deferred inheritance might turn into.
Durov has framed the hassle as a response to declining fertility charges, falling sperm counts, and what he sees as a broader civilizational decline, arguing that wholesome males have a civic obligation to breed.
From VKontakte to Telegram
Typically dubbed “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg,” Durov co-founded VKontakte (VK) in 2006 and turned it into Russia’s largest social community earlier than being pushed out by Kremlin-linked shareholders in 2014. He offered his stake and left Russia, relocating to Dubai. That very same 12 months, he launched Telegram along with his brother Nikolai as a safe, privacy-first messaging platform.
Telegram has since grown to a couple of billion month-to-month customers and turn into a go-to communication software for activists, political dissidents, and extraordinary customers throughout the globe. However its resistance to authorities oversight has made Durov a goal of criticism and authorized motion in a number of nations.
Authorized Troubles in France
In 2024, Durov was arrested in Paris and charged with 17 prison counts, together with complicity in drug trafficking, cash laundering, and the unfold of kid sexual abuse content material via Telegram. He has denied all prices, calling them “completely absurd.” Durov claims Telegram has cooperated with regulation enforcement when correct authorized procedures are adopted, and emphasizes that the corporate has by no means disclosed a single non-public message in its historical past.
Durov stays barred from leaving France whereas the investigation continues, a restriction he says has saved him from visiting his sick dad and mom and new child son in Dubai.
Refusal To Promote, Dedication to Independence
Durov owns 100% of Telegram and has refused all acquisition presents, together with a $1 billion bid from Google in 2017. “Telegram isn’t on the market,” he informed Le Level. “As a result of Telegram isn’t a commodity, it is a venture. An thought. A promise of independence.”
He additionally confirmed that if something have been to occur to him, a nonprofit basis would take over Telegram to make sure it continues working in response to its founding values.
Durov has stated the inspiration construction is designed to forestall any future heirs from promoting or commercializing Telegram in opposition to his needs.
Minimalist Billionaire
Regardless of his theoretical multibillion-dollar web price, Durov claims his liquid belongings are comparatively modest and primarily stem from early Bitcoin investments. Telegram, he says, has by no means paid him a wage or dividend. “For me, Telegram is a supply of bills, not income,” he stated.
He maintains an ascetic life-style: no alcohol, caffeine, sugar, or nicotine. He does 300 push-ups and 300 squats each morning and sometimes swims in icy lakes. “I do not personal a home, a yacht, or a personal jet,” he added. “I feel proudly owning issues can distract me from my mission.”
Whether or not it is a revolutionary act of wealth distribution or the world’s most eccentric belief fund, one factor’s clear: Pavel Durov is not simply eager about the subsequent era—he is personally creating it.
