Telegram CEO Durov to divide $17bn fortune among 106 children

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has revealed plans to leave his estimated $17 billion fortune to his 106 biological children but not until the year 2055.
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‎In an interview with French magazine Le Point on Thursday, the 40-year-old tech entrepreneur said the delay is to ensure his children develop independence before accessing the inheritance.
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He said, ‎”I wrote my will very recently… I decided that my children would not have access to my fortune until a period of thirty years has elapsed, starting from today. I want them to live like normal people, to build themselves up alone, to learn to trust themselves, to be able to create, not to be dependent on a bank account.
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‎”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.

“They are all my children and will all have the same rights. I don’t want them to tear each other apart after my death.”
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‎Durov explained that six of the children were conceived naturally with three different women, while the rest were born via sperm donation across a dozen countries over the past 15 years.
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‎”Six of whom I am the official father, whom I had with three different partners. The others come from my anonymous donation. The clinic, where I started donating sperm fifteen years ago to help a friend, told me that more than 100 babies had been conceived this way in 12 countries, ” he said.
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‎Based on his current net worth, each child could receive between $131 million and $161 million, according to estimates by Bloomberg and Forbes.
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‎The disclosure comes as Durov faces legal challenges in France.
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‎He was detained in August 2024 at Bourget Airport near Paris while arriving from Azerbaijan on a private jet.

Credit: Punch Newspapers