Shocking! The founder of Telegram is set to distribute his $17 billion fortune to 100 anonymous descendants.

Written by: BitpushNews

In the past few days, both the cryptocurrency and tech circles have been buzzing about a piece of news: Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, announced that he is preparing to allocate his $17 billion fortune to a group of special descendants—besides his six biological children, there are also 100 "non-traditional" children born through anonymous sperm donation.

These children are spread across 12 countries, and each will receive a huge inheritance when they grow up. However, he has also set a threshold: all children must wait until they are 30 years old to access this money. In his view, this is to encourage them to "first rely on themselves to achieve something."

This news first came from the New York Post, but quickly spread across the internet. The billionaire, known as the "Russian Zuckerberg," has sparked controversy once again, bringing his influence in the crypto world back into the public eye.

From Programmer to Crypto Hermit

Durov is known as an "entrepreneur who belongs to no country" and lives a completely "digital nomadic" life. He was banned from Telegram in Russia for refusing government surveillance demands and was briefly detained due to the French government's accusations of illegal content on his platform. However, these events have not shaken his firm belief in "decentralization" and "free communication."

Born in 1984, Durov was the founder of VKontakte (VK) and is known as the "Zuckerberg of Russia." In 2014, he was pressured by the Russian government to hand over user data, ultimately being forced to sell his shares and leave Russia.

After leaving VK, he turned to the international stage and founded Telegram, a communication tool that emphasizes privacy and security.

According to TechCrunch, in 2024, Telegram's revenue exceeded $1 billion, marking the company's first annual profit, which is an important milestone. TechCrunch reported that this financial success is attributed to the introduction of premium subscriptions and advertising revenue. Telegram had cash reserves of over $500 million by the end of the year (excluding its crypto assets).

Durov also launched the TON (The Open Network) blockchain project in 2018, raising $1.7 billion, making it one of the largest at the time. It is reported that well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital, Benchmark, Ribbit, Draper, and VY Capital, invested over $400 million in TON.

Although it was subsequently charged by the U.S. SEC for unregistered fundraising and paid a fine of approximately $1.85 billion and refunded investors, the TON project did not stop but was instead taken over and continued to develop by the community. Later, Telegram also supported Toncoin, deeply integrating it into the app, with daily trading volumes exceeding one million and TVL surpassing $400 million.

Durov once said: "My vision for TON still exists, it's just that now the community will carry it out." Although he has "withdrawn" from the TON project, everyone understands that the reason this chain still attracts attention is because it is too closely tied to Telegram, which belongs to Durov.

The minimalist billionaire, the numerical father of many children.

Pavel Durov's lifestyle is as radical as his career.

He doesn't drink alcohol, eat meat, or wear colorful clothes. He is a vegetarian all year round, dresses in all black, exercises every day, and stays away from social activities.

He only works with an iPad, and Telegram is one of the few tools he publicly uses. Pavel Durov once posted a photo of "Naked Embrace with a Goat" during the holidays, indicating a desire to "connect with nature":

On family and marriage issues, he does not follow the conventional path either. He opposes traditional family structures, believing they are a constraint on personal freedom. He currently has 6 biological children with three partners; at the same time, more than 100 descendants have been born through anonymous sperm donation, managed and funded by a trust fund.

However, Durov's role as a "father" is controversial. Between 2023 and 2024, he faced two criminal lawsuits in succession—three mothers of his children accused him of refusing to provide financial support, concealing a double life, and even committing violence against his son who was only three years old at the time...

In fact, Durov is not an isolated case. A recent study from Harvard University shows that the birth rate among the top 1% of wealthy households in the United States has surpassed that of the middle class and is still on the rise.

For example, Musk has 14 children to date. He has publicly expressed "concern about the population crisis," emphasizing that childbirth is a social responsibility that elites should fulfill. From Li Ka-shing's family trust to the Rothschild's transnational family network, traditional wealthy families have long regarded the "multi-child strategy" as a core means of wealth inheritance.

Behind this is actually a ruthless business logic: wealth cannot be taken away, and children not only carry on the bloodline but also have the opportunity to become successors. From Li Ka-shing to the Rothschild family, the wealthy have long been accustomed to using the "multiple children strategy" to diversify risks, expand influence, and stabilize the family territory.

Inheritance experiment, or "Digital Utopia"?

Durov's approach to inheritance is not just about distributing wealth, but rather exploring a new model of human relationships. He redefines "parent-child relationships" and "inheritance systems" through anonymity, trust, and delayed release.

These children do not know each other, their places of birth are scattered, and their cultural backgrounds are different. Thirty years ago, they were just a series of anonymous genes; thirty years later, they collectively possess a vast fortune. This "future community" that does not rely on blood ties or emotions resembles a kind of inherited version of the crypto world.

In the world of cryptocurrency, this mechanism is not unfamiliar: staking, DAO, smart contracts, time incentive mechanisms... Durov has brought these concepts into real life, as if validating one thing - "If the rules are written well, trust does not need to rely on people."

This will certainly spark controversy—ethics, legality, and emotions are all difficult to define. However, it is undeniable that in the Web3 world, this may be the closest real-world model to a "decentralized family system."