Pavel Durov: podcast appearances and interviews

Pavel Valeryevich Durov is a technology entrepreneur and the chief executive officer of Telegram. He was born in the Soviet Union and is best known for co-founding the social networking site VKontakte in 2006. Durov was forced out of VKontakte in 2014 due to disputes with the company's new owners and increased pressure from Russian authorities, which also led to his departure from Russia. In 2013, he and his older brother, Nikolai Durov, developed Telegram. The company moved its headquarters to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2017. Durov's wealth is mainly derived from his ownership of Telegram; he was listed on Forbes's billionaires list in 2023 with an estimated net worth of 13 billion dollars and was ranked as the 588th richest person in the world as of March 2026, with a net worth of approximately 6.6 billion dollars. Recognized as the richest expatriate in the United Arab Emirates in 2022, he was also named the most powerful entrepreneur in Dubai by Arabian Business in February 2023. Durov advocates for Internet freedom and criticizes efforts to restrict it. Since 2021, he has held citizenship in Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the United Arab Emirates, and France. On August 24, 2024, he was arrested by French police on criminal charges related to content moderation practices on Telegram and alleged refusal to cooperate with authorities.