How Telegram CEO Fathered Over 100 Children Across 12 Countries

Pavel Durov, the elusive and influential CEO of encrypted messaging app Telegram, has made headlines with a startling personal revelation: he has fathered over 100 children—most of them through anonymous sperm donations across 12 countries over the past 15 years.

Speaking in an interview with French magazine Le Point, the 40-year-old Russian-born billionaire disclosed that while he has six children through relationships with three women, the vast majority of his offspring came from sperm donations that began with a favour to a friend.

“It started when I donated sperm to help a friend,” Durov said. “The clinic told me that more than 100 babies had been conceived this way in 12 countries.”

The revelation comes at a sensitive time for the tech mogul, who is currently facing serious legal battles in France, including charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and fraud—allegations he firmly rejects as a “big set-up.”

Durov said the gravity of the situation recently led him to write his will, laying out a long-term plan for his children’s inheritance. Valued at an estimated $17 billion, Durov’s estate will be equally split among all 106 children, but only after a 30-year delay.

“I want them to live like normal people,” Durov said. “To learn to trust themselves, to be able to create, not to be dependent on a bank account.”

He emphasized that every child—whether from a romantic relationship or anonymous donation—would be treated equally in terms of inheritance and recognition.

“They’re all my children. Whether natural or from donations, they’ll all be treated equally,” he added. “I don’t want them fighting over money after I’m gone.”

Durov also expressed concern over Telegram’s future should he “suddenly disappear,” hinting that he has made contingency plans to preserve the company’s mission of encrypted, private communication.