shock! The founder of the Telegram wants to share $17 billion in wealth to 100 anonymous descendants

Author: BitpushNews

In the past two days, the crypto and tech circles have been flooded with news: Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced that he is preparing to allocate his $17 billion property to a group of special offspring—in addition to his six children, there are 100 "non-traditional" children born through anonymous sperm donations.

These children are distributed in 12 countries and each person can get a huge inheritance when they grow up. But he also set a threshold: all children have to wait until they are 30 years old before they can use the money. In his opinion, this is encouraging them to "live on their own first."

This news first came from the New York Post, but it soon spread throughout the Internet. The billionaire, known as "Russian Zuckerberg", has once again caused controversy and has brought his influence in the crypto world to the public's vision.

From programmer to encryption secret

Durov is known as "an entrepreneur who does not belong to any country" and lives a completely "digital nomadic" life. He had been banned by Russia for refusing government surveillance requirements and was temporarily detained for accusation of illegal content on his platform. But none of this has shaken his firm philosophy of "decentralization" and "free communication".

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

After leaving VK, he moved to international and founded Telegram, a communications tool that emphasizes privacy and security.

According to TechCrunch, Telegram's revenue exceeded $1 billion in 2024, marking the company's first annual profit, an important milestone. TechCrunch reported that this financial success is driven by the launch of premium subscriptions and advertising revenue. Telegram had cash reserves of more than $500 million at 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, one of the largest scales at that time. It is reported that famous Silicon Valley venture capital investors - Sequoia Capital, Benchmark, Ribbit, Draper and VY Capital have injected more than $400 million into TON.

Although the US SEC subsequently reported the charge of no registration fundraising and paid a fine of approximately US$1.85 billion and returned the investment, the TON project did not stop because of this, but was taken over by the community to continue its development. Later, Telegram officially supported Toncoin, which was deeply integrated into the App, with daily trading volume exceeding one million and TVL exceeded US$400 million.

Durov once said, "My vision for TON still exists, but it is now done by the community." Although he has "quit" the TON project himself, everyone understands that the reason why this chain is still popular is because it is too deeply bound to Telegram, which belongs to Durov.

Minimalist Billionaire, Digital Father with Many Children

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

He does not drink alcohol, eat meat, wears colorful clothes, eats vegetarian food all year round, wears all black clothes, exercises every day, and stays away from social activities.

He only works on an iPad, Telegram is one of the few tools he uses publicly, and Pavel Durov once posted photos of "Hugging Goats naked" during the festival, saying "to connect with nature":

He also went on an unusual path when it comes to family and marriage issues. He opposed the traditional family structure, believing that it was a bondage to personal freedom. He currently has 6 biological children and has children with three partners; at the same time, through anonymous sperm donation, more than 100 offspring have been born, supervised and funded by the trust fund.

However, Durov's role as "father" is controversial. Between 2023 and 2024, he faced two criminal lawsuits in succession – the mother of three accused him of refusing to provide financial support, concealing his dual 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. The latest research from Harvard University shows that the fertility rate of wealthy families in the top 1% of income in the United States has surpassed the middle class and is still rising.

For example, Musk has 14 children so far. He publicly expressed his "worry about the population crisis" and emphasized that fertility is the social responsibility of the elite. From Li Ka-shing's family trust to Rothschild's cross-national network, traditional wealthy families have long regarded the "multi-child strategy" as the core means of wealth inheritance.

Behind this is actually the cold business logic: wealth cannot be taken away, and children not only continue their bloodlines, but also have the opportunity to become successors. From Li Ka-shing to the Rothschild family, the rich have long been accustomed to using the "multiple-child strategy" to diversify risks, expand their power, and consolidate their family territory.

Inheritance experiment or "digital utopia"?

Durov's inheritance method is not just about dividing wealth, but about exploring a new model of human relations. He redefines the "father-son relationship" and the "heritance system" by means of anonymity, trust, and delayed release.

These children don’t know each other, have scattered birthplaces and have different cultural backgrounds. 30 years ago they were just a string of anonymous genes; 30 years later, they shared a huge fortune together. This "future community" that does not rely on blood and emotions is like a inherited version of a certain crypto world.

In the crypto world, this mechanism is no stranger: locking up positions, DAOs, smart contracts, time incentives… Durov moved these ideas into real life, as if verifying one thing-"If the rules are well written, trust does not need to rely on people."

This will of course cause controversy - it is difficult to define ethics, legal principles, and emotions. But it is undeniable that in the Web3 world, this is perhaps the closest realistic model to the "decentralized family system".