Secretive billionaire owner of OnlyFans dies at 43

OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky is shown in this undated photo. (Facebook)

Leonid Radvinsky, the secretive billionaire owner of OnlyFans who reshaped the porn industry with a subscription model, has died at 43 from cancer, the company said on Monday.

The Ukrainian-American entrepreneur bought Fenix International, the parent company of OnlyFans, from the platform’s British founder Tim Stokely in 2018. He served as a director on Fenix’s board and was its majority shareholder.

Under his ownership, OnlyFans turned from a platform that once avoided explicit content into an adults-only phenomenon with more than 300 million users and over US$1 billion in annual revenue, powered by erotic performers and celebrity influencers.

“We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Leo Radvinsky. Leo passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer,” an OnlyFans spokesperson said on Monday.

Radvinsky’s death leaves questions about who will own the platform. His Fenix shares have been held in the LR Fenix Trust since 2024 and he had a net worth of about US$4.7 billion, according to the Forbes real-time billionaires list.

Reuters reported in January OnlyFans was exploring the sale of a majority stake to investment firm Architect Capital in a deal valuing the company at about US$5.5 billion, including debt.

The platform exploded in popularity during the pandemic as millions of people stuck at home globally turned to the web, fueling a surge in content and users. OnlyFans takes a 20 per cent fee on most subscriptions and content sold on the platform.

Besides Fenix, Radvinsky also ran Leo, a venture capital fund he founded in 2009 that focuses primarily on investments in technology companies.

He was born in Ukraine and grew up in Chicago.

Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath