The billionaire founder of Telegram has revealed he still uses a battered Samsung phone worth under £150.
Pavel Durov is known as ‘the Russian Zuckerberg’.
The 39-year-old is the co-founder of the social networks Telegram and VK.
Forbes magazine estimates he has a fortune of around £12.2billion.
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The Russian entrepreneur, who lives in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates admitted he still uses an old tatty phone.
He said he sticks with the old model as it is widely used by many Telegram users and he wants to better understand their experience on the app.
However, he said the old model was recently “unlocked by the Dubai heat” and he may need to now buy a new one.
Durov explained: “I’ve been using this £142 Samsung as my primary device for the last two years.
“I chose it because it’s one of the most widely used phones among Telegram users.
“I wanted to understand their experience to serve them better.”
He added: “But it seems I’ll have to change my phone soon.”
The Russian tycoon accompanied the message with a photo of his dismantled phone.
He is the younger brother of programmer and mathematician Nikolai Durov, 43, who he founded VK and Telegram with.
They were born in Leningrad, renamed St Petersburg in 1991, and raised in Turin, Italy, where their father was employed.
VK was formed in 2006 while Telegram was launched in 2013, as reported by Absolutely Business.
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