Tech-mogul and ‘energetic sperm donor’ says he is fathered over 100 children
A Russian billionaire who claims to have fathered more than 100 children has argued women want his ‘high-quality’ genes.
Pavel Durov, founder of the Telegram app, said he had donated sperm on a mass scale to dozens of couples in 12 different countries.
But the unmarried 39-year-old, worth an estimated £14billion, is still open to fathering further children via IVF clinics.
In a post on his own app, he claimed it was his ‘civic duty’ given his ‘high quality donor material’.
According to Russian news site E1. RU, Durov’s sperm can also still be purchased from a clinic in Moscow, for 35,000 rubles (£303).
Pavel Durov, founder of the Telegram app, said he had donated sperm on a mass scale to dozens of couples in 12 different countries. But the unmarried 39-year-old, worth an estimated £14billion, is still open to fathering further children via IVF clinics
Their investigation also found IVF treatment with his sperm could set people back more than 300k rubles (£2,600) and artificial insemination £700.
His profile also says he is a vegetarian, enjoys ‘getting up early’ and speaks nine foreign languages including English, Persian and Latin, E1. RU claimed.
Mr Durov also recently claimed to have fathered more than 100 children as a sperm donor.
It comes as he took to Telegram just days earlier to confess he has ‘over 100 biological kids’.
He said: ‘My past donating activity has helped over a hundred couples in 12 countries to have kids.’
The tech billionaire explained he signed up for sperm donation 15 years ago when one friend approached him with a ‘weird request’.
Although sperm donors can only provide samples to 10 families in the UK, some foreign centres allow sperm donations from the same person to be used to create a 1,000 or more.
Mr Durov also recently claimed to have fathered more than 100 children as a sperm donor. In a Telegram post, he wrote: ‘I was just told that I have over 100 biological kids’
He added: ‘He and his wife couldn’t have kids due to a fertility issue and asked me to donate sperm at a clinic for them to have a baby.’
He said he felt like donating sperm was one of his ‘civic duties’ and claimed he wanted to ‘open-source his DNA’ so that his biological children can find each other more easily.
The tech mogul added: ‘Of course, there are risks, but I don’t regret having been a donor.
‘The shortage of healthy sperm has become an increasingly serious issue worldwide, and I’m proud that I did my part to help alleviate it.
‘I also want to help destigmatize the whole notion of sperm donation and incentivise more healthy men to do it.’
In the UK, current rules mean a single sperm donor can only create ten families in this country, with each family potentially including multiple siblings.
But there is no regulation limiting the number of families that donors can create overseas.
Some foreign centres allow sperm donations from the same person to be used to create a 1,000 or more separate families.
Experts warn the issue is becoming pressing because more than half of donated sperm used in Britain is imported from abroad – and demand for sperm donors is growing due to an increase in single women and same-sex female couples having children.
In a post on his own app, he claimed it was his ‘civic duty’ given his ‘high quality donor material’. According to Russian news site E1. RU , Durov’s sperm can also still be purchased from a clinic in Moscow , for 35,000 rubles (£303)
The number of same-sex female couples having IVF jumped by 33 per cent between 2019 and 2021, according to fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
Meanwhile, the number of single women having artificial insemination rose by 26 per cent.
Last year, Professor Jackson Kirkman-Brown, chair of the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists, warned it could be ‘psychological harmful’ for children to discover they have hundreds or even thousands of half-siblings.
He said: ‘If you’ve always thought you’re an incredibly special gift, suddenly finding there are 300 people who share 50 per cent of your DNA is a very difficult concept to get your head around.’
Research also suggests people who are donor-conceived often feel pressure to keep in touch with dozens of half-siblings but this can be ‘almost an impossibility’ which can cause great stress.
Last month Netflix premiered an explosive documentary ‘The Man with 1,000 kids’ investigating Jonathan Meijer who defrauded dozens of parents across the globe.
Women told how they felt ‘betrayed’ and ‘angry’ after discovering how many other children the now 43-year-old musician has fathered.
Meijer was banned from donating sperm in the Netherlands in 2017, external after it emerged he was the father of 102 children, born from donations made to 11 clinics around the country.
He continued donating in other countries until 2023, when one woman and a foundation supporting her filed a civil suit against Meijer, arguing he was increasing the risk of incest for his children.
In his testimony, Meijer admitted having between 550 and 600 children.
However, the court said he may have fathered up to 1,000 across several continents.
The judge ultimately banned Meijer from donating sperm to new parents in the Netherlands, and said he would be fined €100,000 (£85,000) per donation if he did so.
