Telegram founder, 40, to leave entire fortune to over 100 children he claims to have fathered
In a startling revelation, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has announced his decision to bequeath his entire fortune—valued at $13.9 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index—to over 100 children he claims as his own. In an interview with France's Le Point magazine, cited in a report by Bloomberg, the 40-year-old tech tycoon revealed the unconventional details of his legacy plan.
(Also read: Russian-origin CEO of Telegram claims he has over '100 biological kids', reveals how)
Durov, already known for his enigmatic public persona, stated he is the biological father of six children with three different partners. However, his legacy goes far beyond that. For the past fifteen years, the billionaire has been donating sperm, resulting in the conception of more than 100 children.
'I want to specify that I make no difference between my children: there are those who were conceived naturally and those who come from my sperm donations,' Durov said in the Le Point interview. 'They are all my children and will all have the same rights.'
Despite this declaration of equality, Durov added that his children would not gain access to his fortune for the next 30 years. 'I wrote my will very recently,' he noted. 'I decided that my children would not have access to my fortune until a period of thirty years has elapsed, starting from today.'
Durov has become something of a cult figure in the tech world, not just for founding one of the world's most popular messaging apps, Telegram—with over a billion active users—but also for his eccentric lifestyle. Known for frequently engaging with his 11.1 million followers on Telegram, he revealed in the same interview that his daily routine includes 300 push-ups and 300 squats, all while abstaining from alcohol, coffee, and tea.
While Durov enjoys global admiration for his tech innovation, he also faces legal scrutiny. As per the Bloomberg report, he was charged last year by French authorities who claim he was complicit in enabling crimes committed on the Telegram platform. Durov has denied all allegations.
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