Featured Image Credit: Manuel Blondeau - Corbis/Getty
Topics: Technology, Parenting, Money
Britt Jones
Topics: Technology, Parenting, Money
The tech billionaire who founded the popular message app Telegram claims to have fathered over 100 children, and has shared just how much of his fortune they will inherit.
In an age where social media users want to continuously stay connected, Telegram provided a new way to talk to friends in 2013.
The app, which was created by Russian technology tycoon Pavel Durov, allows people to talk to one another through its cloud-based, cross-platform messenger capabilities.
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While its popularity isn’t on par with the likes of Facebook, WhatsApp or other services, it is largely used in India and Russia to this day.
But while Durov has found fortune through his app, it’s his personal life that has been making waves.
The founder of Telegram has admitted to having fathered more than 100 children, and if you’re wondering how… read on.
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Durov, who has delicately separated his children into two groups, stated that he is the ‘official father’ of six children with three different women. He then revealed that he is also the father of more than 100 children via sperm donation.
He explained to the French magazine, Le Point: "They are all my children and will all have the same rights! I don't want them to tear each other apart after my death.”
He went on to reveal that there was a clinic 'where I started donating sperm fifteen years ago to help a friend' had gone on to tell him that 'more than 100 babies had been conceived this way in 12 countries'.
The 40-year-old, who has an estimated $13.9 billion net worth, shared that all of his children would equally share his fortune.
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This means that of the more than 100 children, they would each receive one hundred and thirty-nine million dollars of his estate. That’s not a bad deal.
"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 said.
While it might seem odd that he already has his affairs in order, he explained to the outlet that his job 'involves risks – defending freedoms earns you many enemies, including within powerful states', leading him to pre-emptively draft up his will.
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Telegram and Durov has come under fire in recent times after he was arrested on criminal charges in France last year. It was claimed that his encrypted app failed to moderate the app to reduce criminality.
Telegram denied the allegations that it did not properly moderate its chats, and Durov called the charges against him 'totally absurd'.
He added: "Just because criminals use our messaging service among many others doesn't make those who run it criminals."
Durov claimed that he had been fired from his Russian social media company, VKontakte, in 2014 because he refused requests by the Kremlin to censor posts.
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As of now, the entrepreneur lives in Dubai and holds dual citizenships in Dubai and France.
It’s unclear what will happen with his charges, and he has no latest updates on the issue.