The founder of popular messaging app Telegram announced he plans to leave his approximately $13.9 billion fortune to his 106 children he fathered through partners and sperm donations across a dozen countries. Pavel Durov said that he will distribute the money equally among his children, but the kids will not have access to the estate until 2055, citing the need to create self-reliance among his kids.
Details revealed in interview
Durov said in an interview on Thursday, June 19, with French magazine Le Point, that he does not distinguish between the six children he fathered through three relationships and the dozens of others he had through sperm donations.
“They are all my children and will have the same rights. I don’t want them to tear each other apart after my death,” he said.
‘100 babies’
“The clinic, where I started donating sperm 15 years ago to help a friend, told me that more than 100 babies had been conceived this way in 12 countries,” Durov said.
Durov, 40, said he has written in his will that his children will not have access to his fortune for 30 years.
“I want them to live like normal people, to build themselves alone, to learn to trust themselves, to be able to create, not to be dependent on a bank account,” Durov said.
Pressed on his will
When asked why he wrote his will at the age of 40, Durov said that with his job comes “risks.”
“Defending freedoms earns you many enemies, including powerful states. I want to protect my children, but also the company I created, Telegram. I want Telegram to forever remain faithful to the values I defend,” Durov said.
Follows Durov’s arrest and indictment
Durov announced the news just months after French prosecutors detained and indicted him while investigating crimes on his messaging platform. He previously faced a series of charges, which included accusations of being complicit in the distribution of child sex abuse materials, illegal transactions and money laundering.
Durov denied the accusations, calling them “absurd.”
“Just because criminals use our messaging services among many others doesn’t make those who run it criminals,” Durov said.
“Nothing has ever been proven showing that I am, even for a second guilty, guilty of anything,” he added.
Telegram vows to improve moderation
Officials with Telegram defended the company after Durov’s arrest, asserting it follows European Union laws and its regulations of the app are “within industry standards and constantly improving.”
Telegram is an encrypted app that allows large group chats of up to 200,000 users.
Following Durov’s arrest, the platform said it would release data of users who break their rules when requested by law enforcement.
