Pavel Durov isn't exactly a name as recognizable as, say, Tim Cook or Mark Zuckerberg. But once you learn that he is the founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, those bells will definitely start ringing.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram speaks onstage during day one of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015 at Pier 70 on September 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California.
Durov founded Telegram as a direct competitor to other free messaging apps like WhatsApp. According to Forbes, he is also the creator of the Russian Facebook clone VKontakte, which basically led people to consider him as the Russian Mark Zuckerberg.
Telegram, as of this moment, has more than 500 million users all over the world, making it among the most wide-reaching messaging apps to date. But while the app technically does not make money, according to StartupTalky, they have been making plans to start making revenue next year to "keep the business afloat."
This didn't stop Durov from becoming a multi-billionaire, however. He made his fortune primarily through VKontakte, which he founded when he was only 2022. He sold a 12% stake in the company in 2015 for roughly $300 million.
Three years later, Pavel and his brother Nikolai created the blockchain system called TON, which is actually based on Telegram. The brothers raised a total of $1.7 billion from investors, and are now considered big players in the cryptocurrency business.
To date, Durov's net worth is estimated at $17.2 billion, placing him at 112th place on Forbes' real-time billionaires' list.
delivers his keynote conference during day two of the Mobile World Congress at the Fira Gran Via complex in Barcelona, Spain on February 23, 2016. The annual Mobile World Congress hosts some of the world's largest communication companies, the show runs from the 22 to 25 February.
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A 'Free Speech Haven'
Telegram, according to Politico, is considered a free-speech haven due to how it conducts its business. It allows people to broadcast to a wide range of audiences all, while allowing users to stay anonymous if needed. To do so, the platform offers end-to-end encryption, among other features, which is normally not found in other messaging apps.
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One might say that a billionaire creating a totally anonymous messaging platform might be weird, but this is actually on-brand with Durov. That's because he himself has gotten into trouble with authorities in the past with regards to user privacy and free speech online.
Russia has been known (or infamous, rather) for its internet censorship drive, to which the Telegram CEO and VKontakte founder seemed to be staunchly against. There were massive protests connected to this back in 2018, wherein Durov was a high-profile participant, writes DFRLab on Medium.com.
Telegram was largely used to organize mass protests at the time, all in opposition to the alleged internet crackdown by the country's Roskomnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media).
Despite numerous attempts to block Telegram in the country, Russian authorities couldn't stop the people from organizing more protests using the app. This is what gave it its reputation as an anonymous and secure messaging platform, which is why so many people around the world use it now.
As of August 2021, the app has already surpassed 1 billion downloads, basically catapulting it over WhatsApp.
An illustration picture taken through a magnifying glass on April 17, 2018 in Moscow shows the icon of the popular messaging app Telegram on a smart phone screen. Russia's communications watchdog began today blocking access to the popular messaging app Telegram after a court banned the service for refusing to give the security services access to private conversations. / AFP PHOTO / Yuri KADOBNOV
What Pavel Durov Does These Days
After losing control of VKontakte, it seems like Durov's current focus is on blockchain and cryptocurrency.
As previously mentioned, he and his brother Nikolai founded the Telegram-based blockchain TON, which literally means The Open Network, in 2018. TON was designed with the hope of creating a so-called mass-market blockchain platform, according to CoinDesk.
The project didn't materialize, however, and was rebranded to Toncoin-a cryptocurrency completely independent from Telegram.
He still remains a vocal critic of Russia's digital policies, evident by his comment on the proposal of the country's Central Bank to ban cryptocurrencies. In a report by Bloomberg, Durov said that the ban could potentially "drive out" IT professionals and slow down the development of blockchain technology.
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Written by RJ Pierce
