OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky has died aged 43 following a long battle with cancer.

Ukrainian-born Radvinsky grew up in Chicago, Illinois, where he earned an economics degree before most recently residing in Florida. Radvinsky bought the platform’s parent company, Fenix International, in 2018, initially acquiring a majority stake (about 75%) from the founders, and later becoming the platform’s controlling owner. A lucrative decision which saw him launched onto the Forbes list within a short time, with Forbes estimating his net worth at the time of his death to be roughly £3.7 billion. As well as OnlyFans, he invested in tech companies via a Florida-based venture capital firm, Leo.com.

OnlyFans was created in 2016 by British entrepreneur Tim Stokely, originally as a subscription platform encouraging creators to share a wide range of content, from fitness and cooking to lifestyle and music. However, the platform allowed paywalled, private content, which made it attractive for adult creators and, during COVID-19, the platform surged in popularity, quickly becoming known for its explicit adult content. Since Radvinsky’s purchase, there was also increased encouragement for creators to connect with fans through livestreams, personalised messages and direct requests for custom-made photos and videos. In return for hosting the material, OnlyFans takes a 20% share of all payments.

Under Radvinsky’s ownership, mounting pressure from lawmakers and regulators saw the platform heavily scrutinised, with accusations that the company was not adequately safeguarding children. In 2024, British regulators launched an investigation into whether children were accessing porn. Though Ofcom eventually dropped the probe, they fined the company £1 million for failing to provide information about the measures they had in place to prevent children from accessing adult content.

Following Radvinsky’s death, OnlyFans released a short official statement.

The company said: “We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Leo Radvinsky. Leo passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer. His family have requested privacy at this difficult time.”

He is survived by his wife, Katie Chudnovsky, and their four children.