How Pavel Durov Built the Fortune
Pavel Durov is worth an estimated $13.00B today — #38 on the world's rich list. Founder of the messaging app Telegram, which he runs from Dubai. Russian-born, he holds Emirati, French, Russian, and St. Kitts citizenship. His net worth is uncertain because Telegram is privately held.
The fortune didn't appear overnight. The first milestone on the public record came at age 22: co-founded vk. Everything after that is a chain of documented decisions — this is that chain, year by year.
The Milestones
2006: Co-founded VK
at age 22Launched the Russian social network VKontakte (VK) with his brother Nikolai.
2013: Founded Telegram
at age 29Launched the encrypted messaging app Telegram with Nikolai after leaving VK.
2014: Left Russia
at age 30Sold his stake in VK and left Russia amid disputes over user data.
Today: #38 in the world
Pavel's net worth is an estimated $13.00B, updated in real time from public holdings. See the live number →
Milestones are drawn from widely-reported public history; ages are computed from the birth year and can be off by one depending on the month. Net worth is our real-time estimate.