Telegram founder to split fortune between his more than 100 children
Pavel Durov, the founder of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, has said that he will share his multi-billion dollar fortune between the more than 100 children he has fathered.
In an interview published on Thursday by the French magazine Le Point, the Russian tech entrepreneur, who is the sole shareholder of Telegram, suggested he wanted them all to have "the same rights."
"I don't want them to tear each other apart after my death," he added.
Durov claimed that his sperm donations had led to the births of more than 100 babies in 12 countries. He is also the official father of six children born to three different women.
The tycoon told the French magazine that none of his children would be able to access their inheritance for another 30 years.
"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," he explained.
The billionaire revealed that he had recently made his will. When asked why he did so now, Durov suggested that "defending freedoms earns you many enemies, including within powerful states."
The 40-year-old, who is based in Dubai, was arrested last year by the French authorities, who accused him of failing to do enough to tackle criminality on his platform.
Durov has repeatedly denied this claim, calling the charges he faces "totally absurd."
"Just because criminals use our messaging service among many others doesn't make those who run it criminals," he said.
Telegram, which Durov founded in 2013, has more than a billion monthly users.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Kyrgyzstan removes Central Asia's largest Lenin statue
It had been part of the cityscape for more than 50 years, visible from afar with its 23-meter height and 7.5 metric tons. To everyone's surprise, the largest Lenin statue in Central Asia, located in Osh – Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city – vanished overnight. Authorities in this city of 300,000 residents quietly dismantled the monument during the night of June 6 to June 7, provoking either relief or anger within this former Soviet republic. The reactions reflected the complexity of the Soviet legacy across the country, where nostalgia for the USSR has remained widespread despite the rise of Kyrgyz nationalism. The bronze monument celebrating Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, the architect of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and the first leader of the Soviet Union, was the largest in the region not to have been taken down after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. "This is a common practice aimed at improving the architectural and aesthetic appearance of cities," explained the office of the mayor, Zhenishbek Toktorbaev, who was recently appointed. He urged people not to "politicize" the move and cited examples of "Russian cities where Lenin monuments have also been dismantled or relocated." According to city hall, the monument will be "relocated," and in its place, "a [Kyrgyz] flag on a 95-meter-high mast" will be erected.
Local France
an hour ago
- Local France
France's Macron says Europeans to 'accelerate negotiations' with Iran
On Friday, British, French, German and EU top diplomats held talks in Geneva with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi a week after Israel started its bombardment. They urged Iran to revive diplomatic efforts with the United States to find a solution in the standoff over its nuclear programme, but Tehran warned it could only consider diplomacy once Israel halted its bombardment. On Saturday, Macron said talks will be stepped up in an effort to avoid greater conflict. "I am convinced that a path exists to end war and avoid even greater dangers," Macron said in English on X after holding phone talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. "To achieve this, we will accelerate the negotiations led by France and its European partners with Iran." Macron reiterated that "Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons." "It is up to Iran to provide full guarantees that its intentions are peaceful," he added. He once again demanded that Iran must release French nationals Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been held since May 2022 on espionage charges their families reject. "Their inhumane detention is unjust," Macron said. "I expect them to return to France."
Local France
an hour ago
- Local France
France arrests five over cryptocurrency kidnapping
In recent months France has seen several kidnappings and attempted abductions targeting cryptocurrency businesspeople and their families, and authorities have been under huge pressure to act. On December 31, 2024, five armed people attacked a man and a woman in their home in the eastern town of Saint-Genis-Pouilly near the Swiss border. In exchange for their release, the attackers demanded a ransom from their son, an influencer living in Dubai, prosecutors said at the time. When they did not receive the ransom, they abducted the father, who was found a few hours later in the boot of a car in the department of Sarthe nearly 700 kilometres (435 miles) away. The 56-year-old man had been "assaulted, doused with petrol and transported in the boot of a car", prosecutor Karine Malara said in a statement. His wife was found tied up at her home in Saint-Genis-Pouilly. Five people were arrested on Tuesday as part of a criminal investigation. They were taken into custody on Friday on charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated assault, Malara said. The suspects are four adults aged 18 to 22 and a 17-year-old minor. Arrests The prosecutors have not released the name of the cryptocurrency entrepreneur, saying only that his "success was well known to the general public". Three of the adults in pre-trial detention have extensive criminal records, including for violence, theft, drug and currency trafficking, and possession of weapons. The minor has a record for aggravated theft. Advertisement In May, 25 people, including six minors, were charged over several kidnappings and attempted abductions of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and their family members. The most high-profile incident under investigation is that of a kidnapping attempt targeting the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, the chief executive officer of crypto firm Paymium. READ ALSO: Suspects charged in French crypto abduction cases The abduction bid was carried out in broad daylight in Paris in May. In June, five men were arrested in northern France, suspected of planning the kidnapping of a young man and his mother. They allegedly intended to cut off one of the woman's fingers to obtain a ransom from the son, who owned cryptocurrencies. Malara said that no link had so far been established between this week's arrests and the other kidnapping cases.
