Valentina Vassilyev and her husband Feodor Vassilyev are alleged to hold the record for the most children a couple has produced. She gave birth to a total of 69 children – sixteen pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets – between 1725 and 1765, a total of 27 births.
Total births Father's name Approximate year of last birth Notes
1,000– 2,000+ Genghis Khan 1227 ( c. )[a] From various sources one can conclude that Genghis Khan fathered over a thousand children.[99] He had a large harem of women he considered beautiful whom he captured or acquired in some other way, reaching numbers of about 2,000 to 3,000.[100]
800+ Simon Watson British sperm donor, made headlines in 2016 for claiming to have sired over 800 children. He regularly posts updates of his new children to Twitter. In 2018, a child of Watson took a DNA test and matched with 40 siblings. Made headlines again in 2019 for getting 13 women pregnant in just 26 days.[103][104]
up to 300 Paul Elden Kingston Paul Kingston is the leader of the Latter Day Church of Christ, also known as the Kingston Clan or The Order in Utah.[106]
210 King Sobhuza II King of Swaziland (now Eswatini), lived 1899–1982, is thought to have had 70 wives.[ citation needed ]
180+ Jonathan Jacob Meijer Dutch musician who, in his 30s, may have fathered 200 children through sperm donation. The director of the Dutch Donor Child Foundation, told the Times that his offspring could number several hundred or even 1,000.[107]
177 Sultan Ibrahim Njoya He was King of Bamum in Cameroon, lived 1860–1933, and is thought to have had 'around 600' wives. He was said to have had 149 children by December 1915.[108]
170+ Mohammed Bello Abubakar Mohammed Bello Abubakar (1924–2017) of Nigeria married 86 women and had 170 children with them before being arrested in 2008 for polygamy for having more than four wives,[109] though he was released later in 2008.[ citation needed ]
160+ Ancentus Ogwella Akukujulama This Kenyan polygamist, known as 'Danger', lived 1916–2010; he married 'more than 100 times' and had fathered 'at least 160 children'.[110] An unsubstantiated article from the East African Standard claimed he had 210 children: 104 daughters and 106 sons, by some 130 wives.[111]
158 Jack Kigongo Kigongo lived in Kateerea, Uganda, 1909–2014; he had 27 wives, and when he died aged 109, had around 501 grandchildren.[112]
153 Don Reynaldo A Costa Rican business magnate who is said to have fathered 153 children between 1950 and 2005.[ citation needed ]
150 Joe Donor As of July 2018 , a 47-year-old man using the pseudonym Joe Donor claimed to have fathered up to 150 children by using a Facebook page to connect with women looking for free sperm, generally by having sex with "Joe" rather than through costly artificial insemination (though some customers do prefer syringes of his sperm).[113] At the time of a 2014 interview on the television newsmagazine 20/20, Joe had already claimed 30+ successful childbirths from having sex with 100 different women requesting his free-sperm-via-intercourse offer.[114]
150 Anonymous sperm donor As of September 2011 , an American sperm donor was found to have produced at least 150 children.[115] This was the inspiration for the 2011 Canadian film Starbuck and its 2013 American remake Delivery Man.[ citation needed ]
144 Miên Định, Prince of Thọ Xuân Son of Minh Mang, fathered 144 children, including 78 sons and 66 daughters.[119]
142 Emperor Minh Mạng He is reported to have fathered 142 children from 400 wives.[119]
128 Misheck Doctor Nyandoro Nyandoro, a Zimbabwean man living in Chipinge, currently has 15 wives and 128 children.[120]
120 Bodawpaya King of Burma, fathered 62 sons and 58 daughters[ citation needed ]
117 John Robert Dunn John Robert Dunn (1834–1895), a South African hunter and trader, was already married when he became an adviser to the Zulu king Cetshwayo, who granted him land, cattle, a chieftainship and two Zulu brides. He married 46 more Zulu women and fathered 33 sons and 46 daughters.[ citation needed ]
106–115 Saud of Saudi Arabia King Saud, son of Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, lived 1902–1969. According to one source he had 52 sons and about 54 daughters from 'a wider range of women' than his father (who had 22 wives);[121] however, another source credited him with 115.[122]
114 Matteo Valles One of America's most well known sperm donors. Although he is retired now, at age 25 he is estimated to have 114 children. This initially came to light due to starring on ABC's The Bachelorette Season 15.[123]
114 Miên Trinh, Prince of Tuy Lý Another son of Minh Mang, fathered 77 sons and 37 daughters.[119]
114 Ed Houben Houben was Europe's most prolific sperm donor. He advocates the use of natural methods.[124]
108+ Fath-Ali Shah Qajar The second Shah of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, Fath-Ali (1772–1834) had 48 daughters and 60 sons 'who survived infancy', as a result of the 160+ marriages by which he had consolidated his control over the country. Many of his descendants went on to become prominent figures.[125]
106+ John Daniel Kingston A member of a fundamentalist Mormon group, Kingston had 106 children by 14 wives as of 2004.[126]
100+ Murad III It was said that Murad III fathered over a hundred children.[127] : 31–32
101 Bindusara Emperor Bindusara had 101 sons (one of them was Emperor Ashoka)from his 16 wives[ citation needed ]
≥100 Ari Nagel The American maths professor has fathered more than 100 children via sperm donation..[128][129]
≤100 Augustus John The Welsh painter is widely reported to have fathered 'up to 100 children', mostly outside marriage, although some believe that this figure is greatly exaggerated.[130]
64–99 Juan Vicente Gomez Juan Vicente Gomez was the dictator of Venezuela from 1908 to 1935. He had sixteen children with his two mistresses, and several others in affairs.[ citation needed ]
98 Dr. Donald L. Cline, MD An American fertility doctor who illegally used his own sperm to impregnate his customers since the 1970s. DNA has been shown to link 94 siblings so far[131][132] (in addition to the 4 children he had with his wife).
96 Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman Balochi-Emirati who wants to have 100. He has married wives from different countries too.[133][134]
94 Ziona Leader of the religious sect Pu Chana páwl, in the Mizoram state of India, has 94 children with 39 wives, as well as 33 grandchildren, and has, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the world's largest family.[ citation needed ]
87 Feodor Vassilyev Feodor Vassilyev, a peasant from Shuya, Russia, had 69 children with his first wife and 18 with his second. At least 82 of his children survived infancy.[135]
86 Trần Viết Chu A peasant from Hải Lăng, Quảng Trị (Vietnam), he had 86 children with 12 wives.[136]
82 Mongkut (Rama IV) King Mongkut, Thailand's fourth monarch, had 32 wives and concubines during his lifetime who produced at least 82 children,[137] one of whom was Chulalongkorn. See list of children of Mongkut.
82 Jan Karbaat Dutch fertility doctor who used his own seed to impregnate patients. He has 11 children from his marriage, 22 donor children which were DNA-matched before his death, and an additional 49 children which were DNA-matched via sibling DNA matching after his death.[138]
77 Chulalongkorn (Rama V) King Chulalongkorn, Thailand's fifth monarch, had 92 consorts during his lifetime who produced 77 children,[137] of whom 33 were sons and 44 were daughters. See list of children of Chulalongkorn
Is there a 1000 note?
The U.S. stopped printing the $1,000 bill and larger denominations by 1946, but these bills continued circulating until the Federal Reserve decided...
75 Tokugawa Ienari Shogun Ienari, 11th shōgun of Tokugawa Shogunate, had 75 children from 900 women. He is the father of Tokugawa Ieyoshi
75 Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia King Abdulaziz, the first monarch of Saudi Arabia, lived 1876–1953; he had 45 recorded sons and about 30 daughters from 22 wives and concubines. By 2001 he had 2,500–3,500 direct descendants.[121] See descendants of Ibn Saud.
75 Screamin' Jay Hawkins Hawkins, a rock and roll singer, had 57 confirmed children, possibly as many as 75.[139]
75 Cecil Byran Jacobson This fertility doctor was suspected of fathering as many as 75 children by impregnating patients with his own sperm.[140] During trial 15 children were confirmed his through DNA.[141]
74 Ben Seisler Seisler, who spent three years donating sperm to a Virginia sperm bank to offset law-school expenses, recently learned that his donations had produced 74 children.[142]
72 Ramon Revilla Sr. Ramon Revilla Sr. was a Filipino actor and politician. He was known as the "Hari ng Agimat" (literally "King of Amulets") in Philippine films. With his extramarital affairs, his children numbered at least 39; Bong's spokesperson Portia Ilagan claimed that the number reached 72. In a 2004 interview with journalist Jessica Soho, Revilla admitted that he probably has more than 80 children.[143]
70 "Louis", a Dutch sperm donor A Dutch man born 1949/50 in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother and Surinamese father and raised in Suriname, Louis is a pseudonym. He donated between the 1982 and 2002 at three clinics, far exceeding the current limit of 25 donations. 70 live births are confirmed, of whom he has met 40 since 2011, but he estimates 200 in total; he doubts another estimate as high as 1000.[144]
64 John W Hess Lived 1824 to 1903 and was the President of the Davis Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1894. Fathered 64 children with 7 wives as noted in his autobiography.[149] His obituary indicated 65 children.[150]
64 Thiệu Trị Emperor of Vietnam, he fathered children through 24 wives.[ citation needed ]
62 Khuwaja sahib Khuwaja sahib from jib district of udhampur, he had 62 children from just 2 wives. Some of his famous children are Gafoor and Sheema.[ citation needed ]
61 Kashemsanta Sobhaga Thai royal, son of Mongkut, fathered 39 sons and 22 daughters.[ citation needed ]
60 Warren Jeffs President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he fathered children through as many as 70 wives.[147]
58 Thado Minsaw Prince of Burma, fathered 32 sons and 26 daughters[ citation needed ]
58 Gennadij Raivich Professor of perinatal neuroscience and private sperm donor, he fathered 58 children.[151]
55 Kangxi Emperor A Chinese emperor of the Qing dynasty who lived 1654–1722, he fathered 35 sons and 20 daughters from numerous wives and concubines.[ citation needed ]
55 Peregrine Sessions A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a son of Patty Bartlett Sessions, he had 55 children with eight wives.
54+ Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden This Yemeni emigrant to Saudi Arabia married 22 times and fathered at least 54 children.[154] Osama bin Laden is believed to have been his 17th son.
52 Salem Juma'a Salem Juma'a from United Arab Emirates fathered 52 children through 12 wives. By November 2009 he was approximately 75 years old and 1ten of his children were dead. The other 42 were 21 sons and 21 daughters aged from 13 to 38 years old.[156]
51 Nangklao (Rama III) King Nangklao, Thailand's third monarch, had 51 children with 37 women.[137]
50 Qin Shi Huang First Emperor of the Qin dynasty and founding emperor of China. Fathered around 50 children with numerous concubines.
50 Luiz Costa Oliveira A Brazilian from Rio Grande do Norte State, he has 50 children from three women (wife, sister-in-law, mother-in-law).[159]
49 Goel Ratzon Ratzon is a Jewish cult leader and Messiah claimant, born in 1951; in 2010 he reportedly had '21 wives', with whom he had fathered 49 children (CNN data), or 'more than 30 wives' and 89 children (Time magazine data). These statistics came to light when he was charged with enslavement and rape.[160][161]
48 Willie Mack Detroit Michigan resident[ citation needed ][ original research? ]
48 Devawongse Varoprakar Thai royal, son of Mongkut, fathered 48 sons and daughters.[ citation needed ]
48 Svasti Sobhana Thai royal, son of Mongkut, fathered 48 sons and daughters.[ citation needed ]
47 John McAfee In 2018 the software magnate claimed to have 47 'genetic children'[163]
46 Joe Jessop As of February 2010 Jessop was 88. He lived in Short Creek, Utah, alongside a community of at least 6,000 followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He fathered 46 children with five wives and had 239 grandchildren.[164]
46 Marriner W. Merrill A Mormon and the great-grandfather of Todd Christensen, he fathered 46 children with six out of his eight wives.
45 Orson Pratt Orson Pratt (Sr.), polymath, and an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lived 1811–1881; he fathered 45 children through his ten wives.[165]
30–45 Idi Amin Dictator of Uganda, he lived 1925–2003, and had 17 wives.[ citation needed ]
44 Jesse N. Smith Jesse Nathaniel Smith, a Mormon pioneer, church leader, colonizer, politician, frontiersman, and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, fathered 44 children through his five wives.[166]
44 Ong Seok Kim Ong Seok Kim, an educationalist, social worker, philanthropist and entrepreneur. He fathered 44 children through his five wives.[167]
43 Yang Sen A Chinese general and politician who fathered 43 sons and daughters with at least 12 wives.[168]
43 Maha Sura Singhanat Thai royal, younger brother of Rama I, fathered 43 sons and daughters.[ citation needed ]
43 Philip IV of Spain He fathered 13 legitimate children through his two wives and is said to have at least 30 illegitimate children with different women of all conditions.[169][ self-published source? ]
43 Mr Pennant c. 1573 Born William ap Dafydd ap Howel ap Iorwerth he later adopted the family name Pennant, he lived in Anglesey, Wales, and died on 12 March 1581. He married three times, with his first wife he had twenty-two children, second wife ten and then with his third wife four kids with more out of wedlock, at his death his eldest son was 84 and had over 300 descendants.[170][171]
41 Friedrich von Kahlbutz A minor Prussian nobleman who lived 1651–1702, he fathered 11 children by his wife, and 30 by peasant women in his domain.[173] His mummy is preserved in a church in Neustadt in Brandenburg.
41 Aston "Family Man" Barrett Aston Francis Barrett (born 22 November 1946), often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, is a Jamaican musician and Rastafarian. His nickname came about before he had any children of his own. Aston foresaw his role as a band leader and started to call himself "Family Man". He has fathered 41 children since.[174]
41 Muhammad Yusaf Muhammad Yousaf of Sargodha, Pakistan, had at least 41 children from seven wives.[175]
How many scales should I practice a day?
It is my opinion that all serious pianists should spend at least 5-20 minutes a day on scales. You can practice them more or less, this is just my...
40 Maha Senanurak Thai royal, son of Rama I, fathered 40 sons and daughters.[ citation needed ]
40 Hsinbyushin King of Burma, fathered 20 sons and 20 daughters[ citation needed ]
39+ Emperor Wu of Jin Sima Yan, founder of China's Jin dynasty, had 26 sons and at least 13 daughters. Details are here.
38 Emperor Xianzong of Tang Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Fathered a total of 20 sons and 18 daughters from numerous wives.
38 Qian Liu Emperor of the Wuyue Kingdom. Fathered at least 38 sons and an uncertain number of daughters.
38 Hanz Retzel Hanz Retzel smuggled Jews out of Germany during WWII In Wiesbaden Germany He had 14 children from his first wife, 20 children from his 4 mistresses and 4 more children from his second wife.
38 Martin Pleyel Martin Pleyel was a schoolmaster from Ruppersthal in Lower Austria in the 18th century. He had 29 children with his first wife, Anna Theresia Pleyel. Their 24th child was composer Ignaz Pleyel (b. 1757).[176] He had another nine children with his second wife, Maria Anna Pleyel.[177]
38 Ramon Revilla A Filipino actor and former senator, he fathered children through 16 different women.[178] Claims to have fathered up to 72 children.
37 Damrong Rajanubhab Thai royal, son of Mongkut, fathered 37 sons and daughters.[ citation needed ]
37 Robert Gardner Robert Gardner Jr., a Scottish-born Mormon pioneer, had 37 children with 4 wives.[ citation needed ]
36+ Peter Ellenstein Ellenstein is an American actor, stage director and producer, who has fathered a confirmed 33 children through sperm donation.[179] Medium.com
36 Sultan Husain Bayqara Ruler of Timurid Herat and Samarqand. Fathered 18 sons and 18 daughters from 12 wives[ citation needed ]
36 Emperor Shunzong of Tang Emperor of Tang Dynasty. Fathered 23 sons and 13 daughters from numerous wives.[ citation needed ]
35+ King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia The former King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, born in 1924, he fathered at least 35 children, by thirteen wives.[180]
35 Horace Martin Alexander Alexander was a Mormon, a corporal in the Mormon Battalion, and was friendly with Joseph Smith. He had thirty-five children with four wives, from 1836 until at least 1871.[ citation needed ]
35 Narathip Praphanphong Thai royal, son of Mongkut, fathered 21 sons and 14 daughters[ citation needed ]
35 Kanaung Mintha Prince of Burma, fathered 20 sons and 15 daughters[ citation needed ]
34 Taejo of Goryeo Founding as well as first king of Goryeo, he fathered 34 children (25 sons & 9 daughters) through 32 consorts (6 queens & 26 concubines).[ citation needed ]
33+ Dillion "Dillon" Asher Asher was the keeper of the first toll-gate in Kentucky, near Pineville. He fathered at least 33 children with four women between 1804 and 1845.[ citation needed ]
33 Dr. Jan Muhammad Jan Muhammad is from Quetta, Pakistan. He has 14 sons and 19 daughters.[175]
33 Nicholas C. Strohl Farmer who lived in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. Strohl fathered 33 children through three wives.[181][182]
33 Wilford Woodruff President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he fathered children through his five (possibly six) wives.[ citation needed ]
32 Yuan Shikai An important Chinese general and politician, he fathered 32 children (17 sons and 15 daughters) through his wife and nine concubines.[183]
32 Gia Long Emperor of Vietnam, he fathered 32 children.[ citation needed ]
32 Albert Emund Barlow A follower of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in Utah, he was arrested for polygamy at age 52 in 1955.[184] He was said to have fathered 32 children by his three wives.
32 Mr. Catra Brazilian funk carioca singer, fathered 32 children with 3 wives.[185]
31+ Cao Cao Cao Cao had 25 sons (including Cao Pi, founder of China's Wei dynasty) and at least six daughters. Details are here.
31 Prince Fushimi Kuniie Japanese royalty, fathered 17 sons and 14 daughters with ten wives.[ citation needed ]
31 Benjamin Clark A cousin of the explorer William Clark, he fathered 31 children by his two wives; seven of them died in infancy.[186]
30+ Jonas Savimbi An Angolan politician and guerrilla leader, he lived 1934–2002, and had fathered 29–31 children by 1999; his number of wives is not recorded.[188]
30+ Omar Bongo President of Gabon, he lived 1935–2009; his number of wives is not recorded.[ citation needed ]
30 Taksin, King of Thonburi Taksin, the King of the Thonburi Kingdom, had 21 sons and nine daughters.[189]
30 Kashemsri Subhayok Thai royal, son of Mongkut, fathered 18 sons and 12 daughters[ citation needed ]
30 Parley Pratt Early Mormon leader who fathered 30 children with 9 wives. Brother of Orson Pratt (q.v.).[ citation needed ]
30 Miles Park Romney A Mormon and great-grandfather of Mitt Romney, he fathered 30 children with five wives;[190] he married the last in 1890, just before the 1890 Manifesto.
30 Tom Green A Mormon fundamentalist, he fathered children through ten women.[191]
30 Fally Diallo Senegalese Imam El Hadji Fally Diallo has, up to 2014, fathered 30 children with three wives. He campaigns against family planning in Senegal, claiming that it is his God-given duty to multiply.[192]
28 Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu The king of the Zulu nation, who reigned from 1968 until his death in 2021, had six wives and 28 children.[ citation needed ]
28 François Maxim Gamache Gamache was a farmer originally from L'Acadie, Québec, Canada, between his two wives he fathered 15 daughters and 13 sons between 1838 and 1880. With his first wife Osithe Martin he had 10 children. After her death he married Marguerite Duteau and they had 18 children together. There were no multiple births. He died on 19 May 1882 in Cohoes, New York, at the age of 67.[193][194]
27 Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor, Emperor of the Qing dynasty, fathered 17 sons and 10 daughters from 38 wives.[ citation needed ]
26 Prince Noppawong Thai royal, eldest son of Mongkut, fathered 26 children[ citation needed ]
25 Edward Hess Hess was an innkeeper from Safe Harbor, Pennsylvania, who also owned a shad fishery. One of the richest men in the area, he had four children with his first wife Elizabeth Ann Shenk, 17 with his second wife Mary Ann Lewis, and four with his third wife Catherine Rankin, who was 37 years his junior.[195]
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