Pavel Durov
Overview
- Source of Wealth
- Messaging app
- Industry
- Technology
- Residence
- Dubai
- Education
- Saint Petersburg State University (Master of Science)
- Marital Status
- Single
- Children
- 6
Biography
Pavel Durov is the founder and owner of messaging app Telegram, which has more than 1 billion monthly active users worldwide.
Telegram, which is free to use, competes with messaging apps like Facebook's WhatsApp.
Durov left Russia after refusing to cooperate with the secret service and provide encrypted data of his first social network's users. Telegram was banned in Russia from 2018 to 2021.
Durov became a French citizen in 2021 but lives in Dubai.
Durov, who has six children between three ex-girlfriends, claims to have donated sperm that fathered 100 children in 12 countries.
About
Durov is known as Russia's Zuckerberg because he created Vkontakte, Russia's biggest social network, at age 22.
In 2018 Pavel, with his brother Nikolai, raised $1.7 billion from investors to create TON, a blockchain system; it was shut down after the SEC banned it.