The owner of the OnlyFans website has died at the age of 43. OnlyFans is a website famous for its adult content and is credited with revolutionizing the online porn industry.
Leonid Radvinsky, who was born in Ukraine and grew up in Chicago, acquired the company from its two British founders in 2018. Only fans say.
The site’s popularity surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, and just three years later, he made Forbes’ annual list of billionaires.
he OnlyFans confirmed in a statement that he “passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer” and asked that his family’s privacy be protected.
Founded in 2016, OnlyFans is a social media platform where creators can post videos and photos and collect tips or monthly fees from subscribers.
Creators share a range of content from cooking to fitness videos, but are best known for their pornographic content and encourage creators and fans to connect through live streams, personalized messages and direct requests for customized photos and videos.
In return for hosting the material, OnlyFans takes 20% of all payments.
The company generated $1.4 billion (£1.04 billion) in revenue from more than £7 billion in transactions and had more than 377 million subscribers by 2024, according to its most recent filings with Companies House.
It is said that approximately 4.6 million creators posted on the site that year.
The surge in size and popularity under Radwinski’s ownership also drew scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators for its adult content.
2024, British regulators launched an investigation into whether children were viewing pornography, an issue the company blamed on technical issues at the time.
Ofcom eventually dropped its investigation but fined the company around £1m for failing to accurately respond to its request for information about measures to check the age of users, who theoretically must be 18 or over.
Several years ago, the platform was accused of failing to handle illegal content, including child sexual abuse material.
Amid growing pressure and scrutiny over its content, OnlyFans outlined plans in August 2021 to stop allowing pornographic content on the platform.
However, the plan took a sharp turn days later when it faced backlash from users and adult performers.
The company has also been embroiled in legal battles with users, including some who felt cheated after learning that chats they thought they were having with OnlyFans creators were actually handled by low-paid third parties. These cases have so far been unsuccessful.
Radwinski graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in economics and most recently lived in Florida, according to his website. Forbes estimates his net worth at $4.7 billion.
He has been considering selling OnlyFans for the past year.
In addition to OnlyFans, he has invested in technology companies through Florida-based venture capital firm Leo.com.
His philanthropic efforts include donations to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, according to his website.
