The owner of OnlyFans, Leonid Radvinsky, has died at the age of 43, the company has confirmed.
Radvinsky, a Ukrainian-born entrepreneur who grew up in Chicago, acquired the platform in 2018 from its UK-based founders.
Under his leadership, the site experienced massive growth, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, which helped secure his place on Forbes’ list of billionaires just three years later.
He “passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer,” OnlyFans said in a statement, while requesting privacy for his family.
Launched in 2016, OnlyFans allows creators to share videos and photos while earning money through subscriptions, tips, and exclusive content.
Although the platform hosts a wide variety of material, ranging from cooking tutorials to fitness content, it is widely associated with adult entertainment.
Its model also promotes direct interaction between creators and subscribers through livestreams, private messages, and personalised content requests.
OnlyFans takes a 20 percent cut from all earnings made on the platform. According to its latest filings with Companies House, the company generated $1.4 billion in revenue from transactions exceeding £7 billion in 2024.
It also reported more than 377 million users and about 4.6 million creators during that period.
The platform’s rapid expansion under Radvinsky also attracted scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers, particularly over concerns related to adult content.
In 2024, UK regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into whether minors had accessed explicit material.
Although the probe was eventually dropped, the company was fined approximately £1 million for failing to provide accurate information about its age-verification systems.
In earlier years, OnlyFans also faced criticism over its handling of illegal content, including allegations involving child sexual abuse material.
Amid mounting pressure, the company announced plans in August 2021 to ban explicit content. However, the decision was reversed within days following strong backlash from creators and users.
OnlyFans has also been involved in legal disputes with some users who claimed they were misled into believing they were interacting directly with creators, when in fact the conversations were managed by third parties. These cases have so far been unsuccessful.
Radvinsky held a degree in economics from Northwestern University and was most recently based in Florida. His net worth was estimated at $4.7 billion by Forbes.
Beyond OnlyFans, he invested in technology ventures through his Florida-based firm, Leo.com, and supported charitable causes, including donations to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
