OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky, whose transformation of the porn industry created one of Britain’s most successful start-ups, has died aged 43, leaving the fate of an empire worth billions up in the air.
The Ukrainian-American entrepreneur acquired Fenix International, the company that owns and operates OnlyFans, in 2018.
His death after a long battle with cancer was confirmed by the UK-based company on Monday.
Radvinsky remained a director and the majority shareholder of the company, whose strong financial returns have been fuelled by demand for adult content, making it one of the UK’s biggest but most controversial tech successes.
OnlyFans transformed the porn industry by offering content creators a platform to reach their audience directly and taking a 20 per cent cut of the revenues.
The content creators keep the remaining 80 per cent, a compelling offer for the mostly adult entertainers seeking to monetise their work.
Florida-based Radvinsky was regularly paid one of the largest dividends issued by any private company in the UK, including a record $701mn last year.
OnlyFans remained based in the country despite making the bulk of its profit in the US.
The reclusive entrepreneur acquired the business from British father and son Guy and Tim Stokely, who founded the platform in 2016.
Radvinsky was born in the Ukrainian city of Odesa but moved to the US as a child and grew up in Chicago.
He studied economics at Northwestern University and went on to start up and invest in various tech businesses, including the adult webcam business MyFreeCams.
Radvinsky had been in talks over a potential multibillion-dollar sale of a majority stake in the business.
It is not yet clear whether those talks will proceed, according to those close to the situation, with negotiations with various venture capital groups having been complicated by his illness.
Since 2024, his shares in the company have been held in a trust. “We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Leo Radvinsky. Leo passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer,” the company said.
“His family have requested privacy at this difficult time.”
Since the site was founded in 2016, OnlyFans has paid out more than $25bn to creators.
Last year, it generated $7.2bn from users, who pay subscriptions to the content creators as well as offer tips and payment for special requests.
Celebrities also use the platform to make money from their fans, including the tennis player Nick Kyrgios and the singer Kate Nash.
In 2022, OnlyFans backed down from a plan to ban porn from its platform to focus on its “safe for work” content from sports stars and celebrities. – FT.
