Pavel Durov: Telegram founder’s mysterious life, 100+ children

Pavel Durov is many things to many people—programming genius, billionaire entrepreneur, Kremlin associate, advocate for free speech, and the biological father of over 100 children.

The founder of Telegram, Durov, was arrested in France last weekend, adding another chapter to the enigmatic tech mogul’s life. Often compared to Mark Zuckerberg for his coding prowess, Jack Dorsey for his eccentric habits, and Elon Musk for his libertarian views, Durov is a figure who remains a mystery to many.

One of Durov's more surprising traits is his obsession with fatherhood. In July, he revealed that he has fathered over 100 children through sperm donations over the past 15 years.

Read more: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov released after interrogation in France

With a net worth of USD 9.15 billion, according to Bloomberg, Durov holds multiple passports and residency permits, living a borderless, nomadic lifestyle for over a decade. His recent legal troubles have reignited debates around Telegram's end-to-end encryption, which protects user communications even from the company's employees, raising security concerns for governments amid the European Union's push to regulate big tech.

Born in 1984 in the Soviet Union, Durov moved to Italy at the age of four, as he shared in a rare interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson earlier this year. The family returned to Russia after the Soviet Union collapsed, where his father received a job offer at Saint Petersburg State University.

Durov also highlighted the exceptional talents of both himself and his older brother, Nikolai, from a young age. While Nikolai was the star, appearing on Italian television solving cubic equations in real time and repeatedly winning gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad, Pavel was the top student at his school, competing at the local level.