Leonid Radvinsky, the owner of OnlyFans, a platform credited with revolutionizing the online porn industry, has died at the age of 43. OnlyFans confirmed in a statement that Radvinsky "passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer" and requested privacy for his family.

Born in Ukraine and raised in Chicago, Radvinsky purchased OnlyFans in 2018 from its two UK-based founders. The site's popularity surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, landing him on Forbes' annual list of billionaires just three years later. According to its most recent filing for 2024, the company generated $1.4 billion in revenue from over $7 billion in transactions and had more than 377 million subscribers.

The boom in size and popularity under Radvinsky's ownership brought scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators over its adult content. In 2024, British regulators launched an investigation into whether children were accessing porn, an issue the company blamed on a technical glitch. Ofcom ultimately dropped that probe but fined the firm about £1 million for failing to respond accurately to requests for information about age verification measures, as users are theoretically required to be 18 or over.

Previously, the platform had been accused of failing to deal with illegal content, including child sexual abuse material. Amid increased pressure, OnlyFans outlined plans in August 2021 to ban sexual material, but it reversed the decision days later after intense backlash from users and adult performers. The company has also been involved in legal disputes with users who felt scammed upon learning that chats were handled by third parties rather than creators.

Radvinsky graduated with an economics degree from Northwestern University and most recently lived in Florida. Forbes estimates his net worth at $4.7 billion. He had been exploring a sale of OnlyFans last year and invested in tech companies via the venture capital firm Leo.com. His philanthropy included donations to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Source: www.bbc.com