Dubai is commonly referred to as the purchasing and luxurious capital of the world, and it’s dwelling to a number of the richest billionaires on the earth. In response to a 2021 article by Forbes, ‘The UAE is dwelling to 11 billionaires (which is) greater than some other Center East nation’. No surprise then, that billionaire’s lavish existence and private lives acquire a lot folks consideration, and the general public is commonly to know extra about them. Speaking of billionaires in Dubai, do you know that the richest man in Dubai isn’t an Emirati oil magnate however a Russian-born tech entrepreneur? Sure, you learn that proper! Meet Pavel Durov, who’s Dubai’s richest man as per a number of reports– And no he is not a Sheikh or Prince. With a web value of $17.1 Billion (actual time web value as of September 29, 2025), Pavel Durov ranks at quantity 139 on the earth right this moment, as per Forbes. However, what makes Durov the wealthiest in billionaire in Dubai? Learn on to know extra about him, his private life and controversies right here:Who’s Pavel Durov?Born in St. Petersburg in 1984, Pavel Valeryevich Durov studied at St. Petersburg State College, the place he earned a level in philology. On the age of twenty-two, he co-founded VKontakte (VK.com), Russia’s largest social community, which grew to over 100 million customers beneath his management. His innovation and sharp enterprise acumen rapidly made him being generally known as Russia’s Zuckerberg, evaluating him to Fb’s Mark Zuckerberg, studies Forbes.However Durov’s refusal to cooperate with Moscow’s secret companies marked a turning level in his life. After resisting calls for at hand over person knowledge, he was compelled to promote his stake in VK and go away Russia.‘Durov left Russia after refusing to cooperate with the key service and supply encrypted knowledge of his first social community’s customers. Telegram was banned in Russia from 2018 to 2021. He grew to become a French citizen in 2021 however lives in Dubai,’ reads his bio on Forbes.Pavel Durov then based Telegram, which made him the richest billionaire in DubaiIn 2013, Durov launched Telegram, a free-to-use encrypted messaging app that quickly grew to become a world rival to WhatsApp and Messenger. Identified for its sturdy stance on privateness and safety, Telegram now has over 1 billion month-to-month energetic customers worldwide (Statista, 2025). In contrast to most tech giants, Telegram stays absolutely owned by Durov himself, making it his major supply of wealth.Why Pavel Durov selected to stay in Dubai– A sneak peak of his luxurious way of lifeAfter years of transferring throughout nations, Durov settled in Dubai in 2017, attracted by the UAE’s tax-friendly insurance policies and cosmopolitan way of life. He later grew to become a UAE citizen. At this time, he lives in an opulent five-bedroom mansion in Jumeirah Islands, spanning 15,000 sq. ft, as per India.com.Dubai provides not solely a protected base for his world enterprise operations but in addition a way of life that matches his billionaire standing.Pavel Durov’s controversial private lifeDurov has usually made headlines for his unconventional way of life. Whereas he has 5 kids with two ex-girlfriends, he has additionally claimed to have fathered round 100 kids by sperm donation, as per Reuters. These revelations have fueled his enigmatic status as a personal but provocative public determine.Durov’s newest controversy
Telegram’s mysterious billionaire boss Pavel Durov simply dropped a child bombshell: he has over 100 kids, and each single one is about to inherit his $17 billion fortune. From nameless sperm donations to delayed inheritances, Durov’s parenting playbook is as dramatic and unconventional as his tech empire.
On September 28, 2025, Durov made world headlines but once more when he accused French intelligence of pressuring him to censor Moldovan Telegram channels throughout the nation’s elections, Reuters saif. He revealed on X (previously Twitter) that officers had requested him, by intermediaries, to silence political voices in alternate for beneficial remedy in his ongoing French court docket case.Durov now-viral controversial publish on X reads, “A few 12 months in the past, whereas I used to be caught in Paris, the French intelligence companies reached out to me by an middleman, asking me to assist the Moldovan authorities censor sure Telegram channels forward of the presidential elections in Moldova. “After reviewing the channels flagged by French (and Moldovan) authorities, we recognized a number of that clearly violated our guidelines and eliminated them. The middleman then knowledgeable me that, in alternate for this cooperation, French intelligence would “say good issues” about me to the decide who had ordered my arrest in August final 12 months.“This was unacceptable on a number of ranges. If the company did actually strategy the decide — it constituted an try and intrude within the judicial course of. If it didn’t, and merely claimed to have finished so, then it was exploiting my authorized scenario in France to affect political developments in Japanese Europe — a sample we now have additionally noticed in Romania “Shortly thereafter, the Telegram group obtained a second listing of so-called “problematic” Moldovan channels. In contrast to the primary, practically all of those channels have been professional and absolutely compliant with our guidelines. Their solely commonality was that they voiced political positions disliked by the French and Moldovan governments. We refused to behave on this request.Telegram is dedicated to freedom of speech and won’t take away content material for political causes. I’ll proceed to show each try and stress Telegram into censoring our platform. Keep tuned.”Nevertheless, the French international ministry dismissed his claims, saying he “likes making accusations whereas elections are ongoing.”These disputes come whereas Durov stays beneath judicial supervision in France, following his 2024 arrest at a French airport on suspicion of organized crime linked to Telegram’s utilization. Durov denies all allegations, calling them “legally and logically absurd.”Durov’s affect and legacyRegardless of controversies, Durov’s affect within the tech world is plain. With 2.6 million followers on X and 1.6 million on Instagram, he stays a strong voice defending digital privateness. His bio describes him as: “Founder, CEO at @telegram (2013), founder, ex-CEO of @vkontakte (2006), part-time troll.”At this time, Pavel Durov is extra than simply Dubai’s richest man— he represents the conflict between tech freedom, state management, and world politics. His story is one in every of resilience, defiance, and the pursuit of digital independence.