Who is Pavel Durov? Five facts about one of the most famous tech managers

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram messenger, was arrested in France on August 24. The businessman could be accused of several crimes related to drug trafficking, fraud, terrorism, etc. French law enforcement authorities believe that Pavel Durov is involved in the crimes due to Telegram's lack of moderation and his refusal to cooperate with law enforcement. The businessman is currently in custody.

Pavel Durov is one of the most famous tech entrepreneurs in the world. He is a very private person and interviews with him are extremely rare. We have listed five facts about the tech entrepreneur.

Founder of the social networking site VKontakte and Telegram Messenger

Pavel Durov was born in St. Petersburg in October 1984. His parents worked at the Philological Faculty of St. Petersburg State University.

Pavel went to school in Turin, Italy, where his father worked at the time. After the collapse of the USSR and his return to St. Petersburg, the young man was enrolled in the gymnasium of St. Petersburg State University. He was an A student with a penchant for software development. After finishing school, Pavel Durov was admitted to the Philological Faculty of St. Petersburg State University, which he graduated with honors.

While studying, the young man launched a website that was an electronic library of student essays, and also created a university forum where people could communicate with each other. After graduating, Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai, inspired by Facebook, decided to launch their own social network to facilitate communication between people. So, in the fall of 2006, the first user registered on the social networking site VKontakte. Just two years later, the site recorded more than 20 million accounts, and their number was constantly growing. In 2014, Pavel Durov was forced to resign as CEO of VKontakte and leave Russia.

In 2013, Pavel Durov launched the Telegram messenger. The entrepreneur's goal was to create the most secure means of communication ever. According to him, the code for the messenger was written by his brother Nikolai, who developed the basic principles of data encryption in the application, while Pavel himself was more involved in developing the interface. Telegram got off the ground remarkably quickly, and in 10 years the number of users exceeded 900 million. Pavel Durov emphasizes that the company does not spend money on marketing and advertising, the core team consists of about 30 engineers with whom he works directly. In an interview, the businessman said that he would like to see the messenger as a platform for people with different views.

Four citizenships

Pavel Durov is a citizen of four countries. In addition to Russian citizenship, he acquired citizenship of St. Kitts and Nevis in 2013 due to investing in the island nation's economy. In 2021, Durov received two more citizenships – French and United Arab Emirates. The businessman has lived in the United Arab Emirates since 2017, where the Telegram messenger is headquartered. Pavel Durov has repeatedly praised the United Arab Emirates for its effective taxation and favorable legal environment for doing business, especially in the technology industry.

Among the top 10 billionaires in Russia

Since 2016, Pavel Durov has been listed by Forbes among the 200 richest people in Russia. His net worth was estimated at $3.4 billion at that time. In 2021, Pavel was the 112th richest person in the world with a net worth of $17.2 billion. In 2024, Pavel Durov is the 8th richest businessman in Russia according to Forbes with a net worth of $15.5 billion. By the way, Pavel Durov is the only entrepreneur in the top ten who does not come from the industrial sector.

Speaks out against corporations

In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson in 2024, Pavel Durov said that the main pressure on Telegram comes not from governments, but from Apple and Google. According to the entrepreneur, they censor everything that people see on their smartphones, and also threaten to remove the messenger from their app stores if he does not follow their recommendations. “In this case, a large part of the world's population will lose access to a valuable tool that they use every day. But Apple and Google will not compromise – they will ensure that all applications distributed in their stores comply with these rules,” the Telegram founder noted.

Father of over 100 children

Very little is known about Pavel Durov's personal life. According to reports, the businessman was married to a girl he met while studying. This marriage produced two children – a son and a daughter. Pavel Durov did not officially comment on these reports.

In the summer of 2024, an ex-girlfriend of the entrepreneur claimed that she was the mother of his three children and shared photos and documents confirming this with several media outlets.
At the end of July 2024, Pavel Durov announced that he was the father of over 100 children around the world. According to him, he became an anonymous sperm donor and thus helped many infertile couples become parents. The businessman noted that he wants to disclose his DNA code so that his children can find each other in the future if they wish.

Photos from Pavel Durov's social media