Old photos of Pavel Durov have recently resurfaced online, leading to speculation that the Telegram CEO may have undergone plastic surgery to change his appearance. Durov was recently arrested in France on suspicion of being complicit in operating an online platform that facilitates illicit activities, including child sex abuse imagery, drug trafficking, and fraud.
Pavel Durov, a 39-year-old entrepreneur born in Russia, is the billionaire founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, which he launched in 2013 to prioritize user privacy with end-to-end encryption.
Forbes estimates Durov’s net worth to be $15.5 billion. The Dubai-based billionaire was detained in Paris just over a week ago.
Durov has been active on Instagram since 2011, where recent photos show him with a full head of hair and a toned physique. In many of these images taken around the world, the 39-year-old billionaire appears shirtless.
These recent photos contrast sharply with older ones, where Durov appears to have a receding hairline. After an old photo was posted online alongside a newer one, rumors have been circulating about whether Durov has had plastic surgery and a hair transplant.
“Pavel Durov (Telegram CEO) before his hair transplant and plastic surgery,” reads a post shared by a popular account on X. The side-by-side comparison was also shared on Reddit, sparking discussions about whether his appearance changes are natural or the result of cosmetic procedures.
“This isn’t a hair transplant. His hair is too thick and full for such a drastic transformation from a transplant. It’s more likely he’s wearing a hair system (wig),” one Reddit comment reads.
“There’s speculation it’s a hair system, not a transplant, because his hair loss was quite advanced in the earlier photo, and the resulting hair from a transplant never looks as full as his,” another user wrote.
“This is well-executed surgery,” another commenter speculated.
“I honestly think many of the facial ‘changes’ are simply due to better angles and lighting in the second photo,” one Reddit user opined, skeptical of the surgery claims.
