A Russian tech billionaire just revealed he’s fathered over 100 children across 12 countries through sperm donations and plans to split his $14 billion fortune equally among all of them—but there’s a catch that will test whether money truly makes the man.
Story Highlights
- Pavel Durov, Telegram’s founder, has fathered 106 children through 15 years of sperm donations plus six “official” children
- Each child stands to inherit approximately $132 million from his $14 billion estate
- The inheritance is locked for 30 years after his death to encourage self-reliance
- Many children remain unaware of their paternity but can verify through DNA testing
- Durov positions this as his solution to global fertility decline and traditional wealth concentration
The Telegram Founder’s Genetic Empire
Pavel Durov spent 15 years quietly building what may be the world’s largest documented sperm donation legacy. The 40-year-old Russian entrepreneur, who fled his homeland after government pressures over his social media platform VKontakte, transformed his exile into an unconventional mission. While building Telegram into a global messaging powerhouse, Durov simultaneously donated sperm across multiple countries, creating a biological network spanning continents.
The scale defies conventional donor programs. Most sperm banks limit donations to prevent exactly this scenario, yet Durov managed to father children across 12 nations. His revelation in a June 2025 interview with Le Point magazine shocked even seasoned observers of billionaire eccentricity. Unlike tech moguls who use surrogacy or IVF for their own families, Durov treated sperm donation as demographic warfare against declining birth rates.
A Will That Rewrites Inheritance Rules
Durov’s recently executed will reads like a social experiment disguised as estate planning. Every biological child—whether from his three known partners or anonymous clinic recipients—receives equal inheritance rights. This approach obliterates traditional distinctions between “legitimate” and donor-conceived children, a radical departure from conventional wealth transfer. The math is staggering: $14 billion divided by 106 children equals roughly $132 million per heir.
The 30-year inheritance delay reveals Durov’s deeper philosophy. He explicitly wants his children to “live like normal people” and avoid dependency on inherited wealth. This contradicts the instant-gratification culture that often accompanies vast fortunes. By the time these children can access their inheritance, they’ll have spent decades building independent lives, potentially making them more responsible stewards of wealth than typical trust fund recipients.
The Verification Challenge
Khaled Kteily, CEO of Give Legacy sperm clinic, confirms that establishing paternity is “reasonably straightforward” through DNA testing. However, the practical challenges are immense. Many recipient mothers may never have disclosed the donor’s identity to their children. International laws on donor anonymity vary dramatically, creating legal obstacles in different jurisdictions. Some children may discover their biological father only through inheritance lawyers decades from now.
Durov’s statement—”I make no difference between my children… They are all my children and will all have the same rights!”—sounds noble in theory but ignores complex realities. Children raised knowing their father’s identity face different psychological impacts than those discovering billionaire paternity through legal documents. The emotional aftermath of such revelations could overshadow the financial windfall, creating family dynamics that Durov’s wealth cannot solve.
