Leonid Radvinsky, the
owner of OnlyFans, has died at the age of 43 following a long battle with
cancer, the company announced. Radvinsky, who was born in Ukraine and raised in
Chicago, purchased the platform in 2018 from its two UK-based founders.
OnlyFans confirmed his
death in a statement, noting that he “passed away peacefully” and requesting
privacy for his family.
The platform, founded in
2016, allows creators to post videos and photos while charging subscribers a
monthly fee or tips. Although it hosts a variety of content—including cooking
and fitness videos— OnlyFans is best known for its adult material and for enabling
direct interaction between creators and fans through livestreams, personalized
messages, and custom content. The site retains 20% of all payments made through
the platform.
Radvinsky’s ownership
coincided with explosive growth. The platform surged in popularity during the
Covid-19 pandemic, and by 2021 he had been named to Forbes’ annual list of
billionaires. According to its most recent Companies House filing, OnlyFans
generated $1.4 billion in revenue from more than $7 billion in transactions in 2024,
with over 377 million subscribers and approximately 4.6 million creators.
That rapid expansion also
drew regulatory scrutiny. In 2024, British regulators investigated whether
children were accessing pornography on the platform—an issue OnlyFans attributed
to a technical fault. While the investigation was ultimately dropped, the
company was fined roughly £1 million for failing to respond accurately to
requests for information about its age-verification measures.
Earlier scrutiny included
accusations that the platform had not adequately addressed illegal content,
such as child sexual abuse material. Facing mounting pressure in August 2021,
OnlyFans announced plans to prohibit sexually explicit content, only to reverse
the decision days later following intense backlash from users and adult
performers.
The company has also
faced legal challenges from users who claimed they were misled after
discovering that chat interactions with creators had been handled by
third-party contractors. To date, those cases have not succeeded.
According to his personal
website, Radvinsky earned an economics degree from Northwestern University and
most recently resided in Florida. Forbes estimated his net worth at $4.7
billion. He had been exploring a sale of OnlyFans last year.
Beyond OnlyFans,
Radvinsky invested in technology companies through his Florida-based venture
capital firm, Leo.com. His philanthropic efforts included donations to the
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.