Pavel Durov’s unique proposal
Pavel Durov, founder of the popular messaging platform Telegram, has proposed covering the cost of IVF treatment for women who want to use sperm donated by them. He has also promised that his children will receive an equal share of his $17 billion fortune, provided they can prove their DNA relationship. Durov gave this information to a major newspaper. The 41-year-old Russian tech entrepreneur revealed in July 2024 that he has fathered more than 100 biological children in 12 countries through sperm donation. Durov began donating sperm around 2010 to help a friend, after which he began donating anonymously at Moscow’s AltraVita fertility clinic.
According to the report, in the summer of 2024, the clinic adopted a unique marketing strategy, touting Durov’s ‘biomaterial’ as having ‘high genetic compatibility’ and offering free IVF to women under the age of 37. A former doctor at the clinic reported that participants were required to be unmarried to avoid legal complications and that interested women were ‘educated and healthy’. The clinic’s website displayed a Telegram logo along with Durov’s photo, promoting his ‘highly sought-after’ sperm.
Under the DNA-verified scheme, more than 100 children are likely to inherit assets worth billions. Durov said in an interview with a French magazine that all his biological children would receive an equal share of the inheritance. ‘As long as they can prove they share DNA with me, perhaps 30 years from now, they will have the right to inherit my estate after I’m gone,’ he told a podcast in October 2024.
According to Forbes, he has a net worth of $17 billion, most of which belongs to Telegram, which he plans to give to a non-profit foundation. He also has an undisclosed amount of Bitcoin purchased in 2013. Following the announcement of the inheritance, there has been a flood of messages from people claiming to be their child, according to Durov, who said they plan to open-source their DNA so biological children can find each other.
The billionaire says the global sperm shortage inspired him to donate. Durov presented his sperm donation as solving the problem of male infertility and declining sperm counts worldwide. He wrote on Telegram in 2024, ‘Lack of healthy sperm is becoming a serious problem around the world and I am proud to have contributed to reducing it.’
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