Pavel Durov: The handsome tech billionaire behind the Telegram app

The 37-year-old tech guy, dubbed the Russian Mark Zuckerberg, founded the social network VK with his brother Nikolai before he was fired from his position as CEO and forced to leave the country.

Pavel Durov is a billionaire and founder of Telegram.

Entrepreneur Pavel Valeryevich Durov born in 1984 is an extremely successful and outspoken tech billionaire, as well as an advocate for freedom of speech and data privacy. Having accumulated a personal net worth of billions of dollars, Durov's life is an interesting story that many people may not know.

1. Mark Zuckerberg of Russia

Pavel Durov is dubbed the Mark Zuckerberg of Russia but is focused on protecting data privacy.

Durov was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he attended and graduated from Saint Petersburg State University in 2006. In the same year, he founded the social networking website Vkontakte with his brother Nikolai. Later known as VK, the social networking platform quickly became known as Russia's Facebook, with its founder being dubbed "Russia's Mark Zuckerberg".

Although he has since left the social network and went on to create the messaging app Telegram, while he was still involved in VK, it is said to have been valued at around US$3 billion. According to Visual Capitalist, as of 2021, VK is the 19th most visited website in the world used by approximately 1.8 billion monthly active users.

2. Get fired from the CEO position and run away from home

Pavel Durov was fired from his role as CEO at VK and fled Russia.

One of the things that Durov is arguably best known for is his clear focus on the security and privacy of his user data. Back in 2013, while still CEO of VK, Durov refused to provide Russian security agencies with personal and private data of VK - Ukraine users.

In fact, his unshakable commitment to protecting users' privacy eventually forced him to leave his position at VK and to leave Russia.

Pavel Durov is of Russian and Ukrainian descent.

In a recent post on his personal Telegram channel, in which he expressed support for the victims of the conflict in Ukraine, Durov said: "Russian security service FSB asked me to provide gave them the personal data of Ukrainians who use VK and are protesting a Russian president. I refused to comply with these requests, as it would mean a betrayal for our Ukrainian users. . Then I was fired from the company I founded and was forced to leave Russia. I lost my company and my house, but will do it again - without hesitation."

3. He is an ascetic global citizen

Pavel Durov secured citizenship in Saint Kitts, Nevis in the Caribbean after leaving Russia.

After leaving his country of birth, through a $250,000 investment, Durov secured the citizenship of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. This allowed him to focus on his next project and watched the tech entrepreneur live a relatively nomadic lifestyle, eventually landing in Dubai, according to Forbes, his current residence. ta.

Durov not only obtained Kittitian citizenship, but it was announced in 2021 that the Russian-born billionaire has also been granted French citizenship.

In addition to being a global citizen, Durov is also known for his ascetic lifestyle. In 2017, on his 33rd birthday, the founder of VK shared on his personal page a list of all the things he gave up in order to benefit his physical and mental health. These include alcohol, nicotine, drugs, caffeine, fast food, sugar, and television.

4. He built Telegram, the most downloaded app of 2021

Pavel Durov is the founder of Telegram, an encrypted messaging app.

After being forced to leave both the company he built and the country he lives in, Durov turned his attention to a new project, the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

First launched in 2013, Telegram is known for its steadfast commitment to protecting the privacy and integrity of user data. Since its founding nearly a decade ago, Telegram has flourished, successfully growing into one of the largest messaging services worldwide.

Telegram becomes the fastest growing app in 2021.

The past two years have been particularly notable in Telegram's longevity, with the service being named the fastest-growing app of 2021. It also marks an impressive milestone as 70 million new users joined the service as of last year. a single day in October 2021.

5. Own assets worth US$15 billion

Pavel Durov has a massive net worth of $15.1 billion.

Thanks in large part to Telegram's phenomenal success, Durov's net worth is estimated by Forbes to be around $15.1 billion. This incredible personal fortune makes the app developer and tech pioneer the 112th richest person in the world in 2021.

In addition, he has received many other awards including being voted by Fortune magazine as one of the most influential people in business in 2018 under the age of 40 and being selected to participate in the Young Global Leaders program. of the World Economic Forum.

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