Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. Getty Images Europe Pavel Durov is the 33-year-old CEO of Telegram, the encrypted messaging app he built after fleeing Russia with the $260 million (£183 million) fortune he amassed from creating the social network VKontakte.

He's been dubbed "Russia's Mark Zuckerberg" due to his success, but he was forced out of the company that made him his fortune. Now his new app has gained over 100 million users.

Durov is planning to raise $2 billion in an initial coin offering, and is enjoying a glamorous lifestyle in Dubai

Durov only wears black, and used to constantly travel around the world. He's had run-ins with armed gangs and the Kremlin, once threw paper planes made of money out of his office window, and he's been romantically linked to a glamour model.

Here's the incredible, and often bizarre, story of Durov's life: