Tech Founder Pledges to Leave $17 Billion Fortune to His 106 Children
Pavel Durov is leaving a special message in his family group chat.
The Telegram founder recently revealed that he's dividing his massive fortune—an estimated $17.1 billion, per Forbes—between all 106 of his children.
'I want to specify that I make no difference between my children: There are those who were conceived naturally and those who come from my sperm donations,' Durov, 40, told French outlet Le Point in an interview published June 19. '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.'
Indeed, the Russian tech mogul explained that he's the 'official father' of six children from three different partners. Meanwhile, he decided to 'help a friend' by becoming a sperm donor nearly 15 years ago, resulting in him fathering 100 kids across 12 countries.
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And while he wants to spread his wealth equally, his children will have to wait a while for their share. In fact, Durov—who launched Telegram, a cloud-based messaging app, alongside his brother Nikolai Durov in 2013—noted his offspring will not have access to their inheritances until '30 years' after the day of his interview with the French publication.
'I want them to live like normal people,' he continued, 'to build themselves up alone, to learn to trust themselves, to be able to create, not to be dependent on a bank account.'
This revelation comes months after the billionaire was arrested and charged in France with enabling illegal crimes, ranging from child sex abuse material and drug trafficking, to occur on his platform last August. While Durov is out on bail, he faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to the New York Times.
As for his growing fortune, Durov isn't the only billionaire that's been open about passing down assets to their next of kin. In fact, Bill Gates—who shares kids Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22, with ex-wife Melinda French Gates—revealed he's leaving 'less than one percent' of his reported $116 billion fortune to his family, which amounts to over $1 billion.
'It's not a dynasty,' he explained on Raj Shamani's Figuring Out podcast in March, noting that giving his children a larger portion 'wouldn't be a favor to them.' 'I'm not asking them to run Microsoft. I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success, be significant and not overshadowed by the incredible luck and good fortune I had.'
Keep reading to see more celebrities who have a billion dollar net worth…
14. Taylor Swift13. Dick Wolf12. Magic Johnson11. LeBron James10. Tiger Woods9. Rihanna8. Tyler Perry7. Peter Jackson6. Kim Kardashian5. Jay-Z4. Oprah Winfrey3. Michael Jordan2. Steven Spielberg1. George Lucas
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