OnlyFans Owner Leonid Radvinsky Dies of Cancer at 43
Leonid Radvinsky, the billionaire owner of adult content platform OnlyFans, has died after a long battle with cancer at 43.
"We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Leo Radvinsky. Leo passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer," the company said in a statement. "His family have requested privacy at this difficult time."
Radvinsky was born in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and moved to Chicago as a child. He graduated with an economics degree from Northwestern University and later built his business interests through Leo, a Florida-based venture capital firm he founded in 2009 focused on technology investments. In 2018 he acquired Fenix International Limited, the parent company of OnlyFans, from its British founders.
Founded in 2016, OnlyFans allows creators to charge subscribers monthly fees or tips for content ranging from fitness and cooking videos to, most notably, pornography. The platform reshaped the adult content industry by giving creators direct financial relationships with fans, bypassing traditional intermediaries. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, OnlyFans surged in popularity as lockdowns drove both creators and consumers online, landing Radvinsky on Forbes' billionaires list by 2021. By 2024 the platform reported revenue of $1.4 billion, more than 377 million subscribers and 4.6 million creator accounts, which is a 13% increase on the previous year. OnlyFans takes a 20% cut of all payments made on the platform.
Radvinsky had paid himself roughly $1.8 billion in dividends from the platform since 2021, including £522 million in 2024 alone. He moved his ownership into a trust in 2024. At the time of his death, the company had been in early-stage talks to sell a 60% stake to San Francisco investment firm Architect Capital in a deal valuing the business at around $5.5 billion.
OnlyFans said Radvinsky, who gave few public interviews over his career, had supported "several philanthropic projects globally," including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, open source initiatives and the West Suburban Humane Society.
