Leonid Radvinsky, the owner of one of the most famous online adult sites, has passed away at 43 after a battle with cancer.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the d*ath of Leo Radvinsky. Leo passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer,” his company, OnlyF*ns, said in a statement.
“His family have requested privacy at this difficult time.”
Highlights
- Leonid Radvinsky passed away at 43 after a private battle with cancer.
- The company he owned generates $6.6 billion annually and has over 300 million users worldwide.
- His platform hosts creators ranging from adult workers to celebrities and influencers offering explicit content.
The Ukrainian-American acquired Fenix International, the company that owns and operates the adult subscription-based site, in 2018, and served as its director and majority shareholder.
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Radvinsky’s cancer battle was largely unknown to the public. In 2024, he and his wife were major supporters of a $23 million grant program for cancer research through a gastrointestinal research foundation, as per the Wall Street Journal.
“The advances will forever change the face of cancer treatment. And Leo’s here tonight proving that science and miracles go hand in hand,” said his wife, Katie Chudnovsky, at the event.
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His adult company was reportedly exploring the sale of a majority stake valued at approximately $5.5 billion, according to The Independent.
At the time of his passing, the platform was reportedly generating $6.6 billion in annual turnover.
The website owned by the Northwestern University economics graduate boasts more than 300 million users, many of whom pay fees for subscriptions to a creator’s page, pay-per-view videos, and personalized interactions.
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Its creators include s*x workers but also pop stars, influencers, and other celebrities who offer explicit content for their paying subscribers.
Radvinsky kept a low profile. He didn’t give interviews and stayed away from industry events.
Born in the Soviet Union, he moved to the Chicago area when he was a child and played competitive chess when he was 10.
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His high-school classmates described Radvinsky as a smart, sometimes abrasive teen.
When he was a teen, he founded a business called Cybertania. One of its first gambits was operating websites such as Ultimate Passwords that claimed to offer hacked passwords to adult sites, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Some of the hundreds of adult website names he owned included names of celebrities like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and Ben Affleck. Many of these sites promised links to X-rated videos.
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In 2004, Radvinsky started a website called MyFreeCams, which offered what later became known as “camming,” in which people pay for creators to blend casual chats with explicit live content.
In 2018, the businessman was among the potential bidders for the adult Penthouse brand, but he didn’t win the auction. Months later, he bought 100% of OnlyF*ns, the company founded two years earlier by British entrepreneur Tim Stokely, for an undisclosed amount.
Creators on his website include adult workers, influencers, and celebrities
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Before being acquired by Radvinsky, the platform was a British company similar to MyFreeCams that sold users, dubbed “fans,” subscriptions to a creator’s page, as per the WSJ, but that reportedly avoided explicit content.
The billion-dollar company gained significant popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as lockdowns left many people looking for ways to earn extra money and feel less lonely. In 2021, the service added nearly 300,000 new users every day.
It made headlines several times, with creators such as Bonnie Blue publicizing a number of controversial stunts she filmed for the site on social media.
Forbes estimates that Radvinsky's net worth was about $4.7 billion at the time of his passing.
The news of Radvinsky’s passing sparked a wave of reactions on X, with one person writing, “He should have taken that adult content with him…”
“He took advantage of lots of young girls. He should take his website with him,” echoed another.
“He was young. Rest easy,” typed another user.
A separate user joked that they would do a “week of no content as tribute.”
“The guy who turned loneliness into billions just got reminded that money doesn't buy immortality. Brutal irony,” shared an additional user.
Social media users reacted to Radvinsky's passing at the age of 43
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