Pavel Durov, known as the founder of the Russian social network VKontakte and the international cloud messenger Telegram, has spent a hefty amount on Telegram subscriptions. Media reports suggest that he used the equivalent of $200,000 in Toncoin (TON) to pay for 10,000 premium subscriptions in Telegram. The purchased subscriptions will be raffled off among the subscribers of his Telegram channel.
Pavel Durov is a renowned Russian businessman. Forbes ranks him 10th among Russia’s billionaires and 148th in the world. His fortune is estimated at $11.5 billion.
In 2006, Mr. Durov created the social network Vkontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook. In 2014, he stepped down as CEO of the company, selling his stake to Ivan Tavrin, CEO of Russian cellular operator Megafon and co-owner of the Media-1 holding.
In 2013, Pavel Durov launched a new project: the Telegram messenger. According to Mr. Durov himself, in the past five years, Telegram has become the world’s second most popular instant messaging app after WhatsApp. In 2018, Pavel Durov joined forces with his brother to build a blockchain platform called Telegram Open Network (TON), but both of them abandoned the project in 2020 due to litigation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The project is now being developed by members of the TON Foundation community.
