When a Billionaire Sires a Hundred Heirs: Pavel Durov’s Modern Mahabharat

A modern saga of wealth, legacy, and lineage — as the Telegram founder crafts an inheritance plan worthy of ancient epics.

By Karan Bir Singh Sidhu
Retired IAS officer, Punjab cadre; former Special Chief Secretary, Punjab; Electronics and Communication Engineering graduate and university gold medallist; MA (Economics), University of Manchester, UK. Writes on the intersection of technology, ethics, and law.

Tech-Billionaire Crafts a Bequest for Hundred Heirs

The Kauravas of the Mahabharat may have set an ancient benchmark for sibling abundance — but in the modern world of billionaires, Telegram founder Pavel Durov is scripting — or shall we say, encrypting — an epic of his own. In a revelation as audacious as it is unconventional, Durov has stunned the tech world by announcing that his entire $17.1 billion fortune will one day be divided among more than one hundred of his biological children — many conceived through sperm donations over the past fifteen years. It is a legacy plan— for his clan— that would not seem out of place in ancient lore: a billionaire’s modern Mahabharat, destined to unfold over generations.

The Inheritance with a Catch

Yet for Durov’s heirs, this immense fortune will not be easily or immediately accessible. “I wrote my will very recently,” he revealed. “I decided that my children would not have access to my fortune until a period of thirty years has elapsed, starting from today.”

In other words, Durov’s children — whether conceived naturally or through donation — will have to wait until at least 2055 before they can touch their inheritance. The reason? He wants them to “live like normal people, to build themselves up on their own, to learn to trust themselves, to be able to create — not to be dependent on a bank account.”

A History of Sperm Donation

The seeds of this extraordinary story were planted some fifteen years ago, when a friend approached Durov with an unusual request: could he donate sperm to help the friend and his wife have a child? Initially bemused, Durov ultimately agreed when he realised the depth of the couple’s longing.

Since then, Durov’s donations have reportedly helped more than a hundred couples across a dozen countries conceive children. As of mid-2024, at least one IVF clinic still holds frozen samples of his sperm, available anonymously to families. More recently, Durov has gone a step further — offering his sperm free of charge to women seeking to conceive via IVF, even covering associated medical costs through a partnership with the Altravita fertility clinic.

The Man Behind the Fortune

Born on 10 October 1984 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, Pavel Valeryevich Durov grew up partly in Turin, Italy, where his father — a renowned philologist — had accepted a professional posting. Returning to Russia, Durov completed his education in St. Petersburg and graduated in 2006 with a degree in philology.

While still a student, Durov began an entrepreneurial journey that would reshape Russia’s online landscape. In 2006, supported by his brother Nikolai — a gifted mathematician and programmer — he launched VKontakte (VK), a social networking site tailored for Russian users. Under Durov’s leadership, VK flourished, eventually reaching a $3 billion valuation.

But controversy soon followed. In 2011, Durov faced off against the authorities, resisting demands to remove opposition politicians’ pages following elections to the Duma. In 2014, amid the Euromaidan protests, he again defied government pressure — refusing to surrender personal data on Ukrainian protesters or block activist Alexei Navalny’s VK page. The result: Durov was forced out of VK and into exile.

Armed with a Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship and $300 million secured in Swiss banks, Durov set his sights on a new venture: Telegram. Today, his encrypted messaging service boasts over one billion active users — and in 2024, it posted a record $540 million profit, reversing prior losses.

A Complex Personal Life

While Durov has cultivated an enigmatic public image, new glimpses into his personal life have begun to emerge. He has fathered children with multiple partners — including three children with Irina Bolgar, his companion of nearly a decade.

Bolgar has described a life of extraordinary luxury: $1 million summer stays at a 116-acre Sardinian resort; a penthouse in Dubai with a private elevator; private flights to Paris, Italy, and Monaco. Yet their relationship eventually fractured, leading to legal disputes and allegations of abuse.

Despite this, Durov maintains an austere personal discipline: 300 push-ups and 300 squats daily; abstention from alcohol, coffee, tea, sugar, smoking, and meat. His minimalist lifestyle, it seems, stands in stark contrast to the immense wealth he commands.

Legal Challenges and Future Plans

Even as Durov crafts this audacious inheritance plan, he faces mounting legal scrutiny. In 2024, French authorities arrested him on allegations of complicity in crimes committed by Telegram users — charges including fraud, money laundering, terrorism, and drug-related offences. Released on €5 million bail, Durov was permitted to leave France temporarily under judicial supervision.

Yet his gaze remains firmly fixed on the future. Durov has publicly stated that if anything were to happen to him, a nonprofit foundation would assume control of Telegram, preserving its independence and core values. For now, he remains the platform’s sole shareholder, adamant that this is the only way to safeguard its freedom.

Ethical and Legal Implications

Durov’s inheritance plan also raises intriguing ethical and legal questions. Traditionally, sperm donors relinquish all parental rights — as courts in many jurisdictions, including India’s Bombay High Court, have reiterated. Yet Durov is now actively recognising all of his biological children as heirs.

How the legal complexities of this will unfold — especially given the differing laws governing donor-conceived children around the world — remains to be seen. The potential for future legal challenges seems inevitable.

Of Billionaires and Birthrates

It is worth noting that Durov is not the only tech titan to champion prolific parenthood. Elon Musk — father to eleven known children — has repeatedly declared that “population collapse” is the greatest existential threat facing the human civilisation today. His stated motivation for expanding his own brood stems from this very belief. One might remark, tongue-in-cheek, that on this particular front, the billionaires of Silicon Valley and beyond can safely count on India — already more than 1.4 billion strong — to do its part.

A Legacy Unlike Any Other

With Telegram now valued at around $30 billion and a possible IPO on the horizon, Durov’s legacy plan carries enormous implications. Should the company’s growth continue apace, each of his more than one hundred children could ultimately inherit hundreds of millions — once the thirty-year waiting period elapses.

In the meantime, whether the criminal case initiated by the French authorities — flimsy as it may be — casts a shadow over Durov’s personal liberty, and indirectly over the security of his wealth and the fortunes of his many “distant” beneficiaries, remains to be seen. For now, Durov continues to shape both his business empire and an extraordinary personal legacy. Only time will tell whether Durov’s extraordinary legacy will unite his heirs — or spark a modern saga worthy of the Mahabharat itself.