OnlyFans owner, a site noted for its adult content and credited with revolutionising the online pornography industry, has died at the age of 43.
Leonid Radvinsky, a Ukrainian-born Chicago native, bought the company from its two UK-based founders in 2018, according to OnlyFans.
The site’s popularity skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic, propelling him to Forbes’ annual list of billionaires only three years later.
He “passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer,” OnlyFans announced in a statement, requesting privacy for his loved ones.
OnlyFans, founded in 2016, is a social media site that allows creators to upload movies and photographs while charging members for tips or a monthly fee.
Creators post a variety of content, from food to fitness videos, but it is best known for pornography and its ability to link producers and fans through livestreams, personalised messaging, and direct requests for custom-made photographs and movies.
In exchange for hosting the material, OnlyFans receives 20% of all payments. According to the most recent Companies House statement, the company generated $1.4 billion (£1.04 billion) in revenue from more than £7 billion in transactions and had more than 377 million customers in 2024.
According to the report, around 4.6 million creators posted on the website that year. The increase in size and popularity under Radvinsky’s management drew criticism from lawmakers and regulators for its adult material
In 2024, British officials initiated an investigation into whether youngsters were viewing pornography, which the firm at the time attributed to a technical glitch.
Ofcom eventually discontinued the investigation, but it fined the company over £1 million for failing to reply appropriately to its requests for information about the methods it has in place to verify the age of its users, who must be 18 or older.
Several years ago, the site was accused of failing to deal with illegal materials, which included child sexual assault contents.
In August 2021, OnlyFans announced plans to remove sexual content from its platform due to rising criticism and scrutiny.
However, it abruptly retracted the proposal days later, following widespread criticism from users and adult performers.
The company has also been involved in legal disputes with consumers, including many who felt duped after discovering that talks they thought they were having with OnlyFans artists were actually handled by low-paid third parties. Those cases have not been successful to date.
Radvinsky earned an economics degree from Northwestern University and most recently lived in Florida, according to his website. Forbes estimates his net worth at $4.7 billion. He had considered selling OnlyFans last year 2025.
In addition to OnlyFans, he made investments in technology firms through Leo.com, a Florida-based venture capital organization.
According to his website, he donated to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as part of his charitable efforts.
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