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He's worth $15.5 billion. Has 100 kids. But owns no house or car. Born in 1984 in the USSR, Pavel Durov learned to code early. By 22, he'd built VKontakte—a.k.a. "Russia's Facebook" His secret? Ruthless efficiency and a knack for doing more with less. 4 lessons on Minimalism from Pavel Durov: 1. Principles Over Profit Durov is no stranger to fights with governments. In 2024, French officials arrested him during his private jet's layover. His crime? Creating Telegram. Durov won't compromise privacy. 2. Move Fast, Stay Lean Durov built VKontakte in just one month. Perfect is the enemy of done. 3. Quality Over Quantity After leaving VK, Pavel and his brother, Nikolai, created Telegram with just 6 developers. Most tech giants have thousands of staff. Telegram? Just 30 developers. 4. Hands-On Leadership Beats Bureaucracy No red tape. Durov is the sole product manager, personally overseeing every feature. He approves, and it gets done.