If you were worth a billion dollars what assets would you have under your ownership? Would you own an expensive sports car? A fancy yacht parked in the Mediterranean? You would certainly buy a big house, right? That seems like something at least most of us can agree on. If that’s still not the case for you, it seems like you and the Telegram CEO Pavel Durov would be good friends.

Pavel is said to be worth over 15 billion dollars, but get this, he doesn’t own anything. No houses, no cars, no yachts, no jets, not even a crazy real estate portfolio with rental properties. In a world where the standard script for most of the world’s billionaires stems from owning many of these finer material possessions, it seems unheard of for someone with the amount of wealth Durov has to live the lifestyle he lives –this stems from his philosophy of freedom.

When Durov launched Telegram in 2013, the goal was simple—to give people the freedom to communicate without government interference or data mining. And oh boy, has he succeeded! With over 700 million active monthly users, Telegram has become one of the top messaging platforms worldwide. It’s especially popular among those who value privacy and communication sovereignty such as activists, journalists, and some businesses.

But Durov’s dedication to freedom doesn’t stop with his app. As we’ve seen already, It runs through every part of his life.

Durov’s minimalist lifestyle is about cutting away distractions and avoiding the pitfalls of materialism. Owning assets, he argues, makes you a target—whether it's governments, hackers, or life's daily stresses. By owning nothing, he stays off the radar and maintains full flexibility. He can pick up and move whenever, and wherever he pleases.

In a conversation with Tucker Carlson, Durov explained why he avoids physical possessions. “I believe in freedom,” he said, “and owning assets ties you down.” To him, spending energy on material things takes away from the bigger picture. “I would rather make decisions that influence how a billion people communicate than choose the color of seats in a house that only I and my friends would see.”

That minimalist approach applies to his company too. Unlike other tech founders, Durov has kept Telegram completely under his control. He never sold stakes to investors or venture capitalists. Why? He values independence of course, and also didn’t want investors’ goals to interfere with Telegram’s mission of protecting users' privacy.

Durov’s lifestyle may seem extreme to some, especially in a world where success is measured by ownership. But here’s the bigger question: Is freedom about what you have, or about what you don’t need? This is a challenge to rethink wealth for what it is, not as something that ties you down, but as the ability to move through life untethered, unburdened by the things that control most people.

So, what if you were in his shoes? That big house still sounds nice, right? We all dream about it. But when you start thinking about yachts, jets, and garages full of cars, ask yourself—do those things bring freedom or just more chains? Real wealth might just be the things you choose not to have. If you had it all, would you own your life, or would your life own you?

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