Or is it “Elons Musk”? You know — like attorneys general.

Either way, the thought of pluralizing someone who is already bigger than life is overwhelming. Yet, it seems already to have happened.

In case you haven’t been following this week’s news closely enough, I’d like you to meet . . .

Pavel Durov, referred to by one source as “A Russian Elon Musk.” [Joshua Berlinger and Anna Chernova, CNN, August 26, 2024.]

Holy crap! Another Musk isn’t enough . . . he has to be Russian to boot??!!!

A brief bio: At age 39, he is the multi-billionaire CEO of Telegram — the controversial, ultra-secure, encrypted messaging service so popular with today’s terrorists, criminal gangs, governments, and others with the deepest and darkest of secrets to be kept. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, he is a mathematical and programming genius who first developed VKontakte, Russia’s answer to Facebook; then went on to create Telegram. Like so many others, he ran afoul of the Putin regime when he refused to cooperate after they “requested” he disclose the very information his program was designed to protect . . . and then he left Russia.

Durov now holds both French and Emerati (UAE) citizenship, plus one or two others. He lives in Dubai, and spends much of his time jetting around the world. When he landed in France earlier this week, he was arrested by French authorities for much the same reason that he left Russia: his firm belief in people’s absolute right to privacy.

And suddenly his name has become a household word: “Have you heard what happened to Pavel Durov?” “Oh, my God, they’ve arrested Durov!” “How can they possibly charge Pavel for protecting his clients?” “Who the hell is Pavel Durov?”

Okay, I snuck that last one in because there are probably a few people out there who still don’t know who he is. But they will.

Of course, celebrity inevitably brings with it a loss of your own privacy. People want to know more about you — everything, in fact. And this man has made a practice of being, if not secretive, at least enigmatic. But bits and pieces are becoming known, such as . . .

. . . his claim to have fathered at least 100 children.

Ordinarily, that would have sent the real Elon Musk into a frenzy of jealousy and formulating a plan to catch up — a Herculean task, since he “only” has 12 of his own, leaving 88 to go. But Durov cheated; he admits to having provided sperm donations over some 15 years, which in itself is . . . no, never mind . . . whereas Musk . . . uh, forget it. Just thinking about those two. . . you know . . . is exhausting — and more than a little embarrassing.

It has been said that Durov “cuts the figure of a mysterious, globe-trotting tech bro with Mark Zuckerberg’s prodigiousness, Jack Dorsey’s bizarre lifestyle habits and Elon Musk’s libertarian streak.” [Id.] He is also sometimes found shirtless . . .

. . . which oddly reminds me of his old nemesis, this guy:

Sorry, Vlad . . . no contest. Although there is the age difference to consider.

Now, these three men, and a few others of their ilk, share a number of characteristics: intelligence, drive, focus, ruthless ambition . . . and ego. Because to be so sure that you have that “it” factor that will lead you to success, you have to have an over-abundance of self-confidence, a conceit that will not allow you to fail.

And there you have what I think is the perfect brief description of the not-so-mysterious Pavel Durov: an ego on legs . . . with killer abs.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/27/24