By Our Foreign Affairs Correspondent
A RUSSIAN tech billionaire has sparked a frantic “biological gold rush” after offering women his “super-seed” and a potential slice of a £13 billion fortune.
Pavel Durov, the elusive 41-year-old founder of messaging giant Telegram, has seen demand for his frozen sperm soar by a staggering 14 times in just a matter of days.
The tech mogul—already dubbed the “Billionaire Donor”—claims to have fathered over 100 children across 12 countries since he first started donating “high-quality biomaterial” in 2010.
Now, dozens of women are reportedly flocking to the AltraVita fertility clinic in Moscow to get their hands on his genetics.
The ‘Billionaire’ Requirements
But any hopeful mum looking to raise a mini-mogul has to meet Durov’s strict criteria.
To qualify for the free IVF treatment—which Durov is footing the bill for himself—women must be:
Under 37
In peak physical health
Unmarried (to avoid messy legal disputes)
The clinic’s website even features a photo of the gym-honed tycoon alongside the Telegram logo, marketing him as “one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time.”
It isn’t just about the “good genes,” though. Durov has stunned the world by announcing that any child proven to be his via a DNA test will be entitled to an equal share of his staggering $17 billion (£13.4bn) estate.
“I make no difference between my children,” Durov recently told an interviewer.
“Whether they were conceived naturally or through my sperm donations, they will all have the same rights. I don’t want them to tear each other apart after my death.”
However, the kids won’t be living the high life immediately. The tycoon plans to lock his fortune away for 30 years, insisting he wants his offspring to “learn to trust themselves” rather than becoming dependent on a bank account.
Durov, who lives in Dubai and recently faced legal troubles in France, claims his prolific donating is a “civic duty” to combat a global shortage of healthy sperm.
He blames “plastic pollution” and declining male fertility for a worldwide crisis and says he is “proud” to have done his part.
As the queues at the AltraVita clinic grow, critics have branded the move a “genetic ego trip,” but for the women in Moscow, the chance to have a “Telegram tot” with a billionaire’s bank balance is an opportunity too good to pass up.
