The owner of OnlyFans, a site known for its adult content that is credited with revolutionising the online porn industry, has died at the age of 43.

Leonid Radvinsky, who was born in Ukraine and grew up in Chicago, had purchased the company 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.

He "passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer," OnlyFans confirmed in a statement, which asked for privacy for his family.

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[–] 32 points 5 months ago (10 children)

So he didn't do any of the work for originally coming up with the idea or making the site, and then he also didn't do any of the work in making the site's popular content.

I do see there is some risk and some value in investing in a company, but it seems wrong that he became a billionaire when the people who did the actual work didn't. More evidence that we don't need billionaires.

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  • [–] 15 points 5 months ago

    didn’t do any of the work for originally coming up with the idea or making the site, and then he also didn’t do any of the work in making the site’s popular content

    Every CEO ever. Valueless drain through which money is removed

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (8 children)

    their Wikipedia article claims that he bought 75% of the site from the founders, and that the founders were still involved after the sale. Terms were not disclosed in that article, and I am not inclined to search further. But it is safe to assume the founders got their bag.

    If this guy came along and made more off their work, who cares? I think those founders made enough that they don't have to worry about paying for porn ever again.

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  • [–] 18 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    If this guy came along and made more off their work, who cares?

    That money came of the backs of the performers, developers, and god only knows how many third world "content screeners" working for dollars a day to keep the site in compliance with local laws.

    He didn't just get rich ex nihilio. He extracted that money from other people's hard work.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Well, yeah, that's what owners and CEOs do, make money off the backs of others. (And other body parts, too, in this case). He's no worse (or better) than the others.

    That same Wiki article states that OnlyFans claims to have paid out $25B to "creators" as of last October. Ironically, these folks might be getting less screwed than content creators in other disciplines.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago* (2 children)

    Ironically, these folks might be getting less screwed than content creators in other disciplines.

    Enslaved on OnlyFans: Women describe lives of isolation, torment and sexual servitude

    In one prominent case, influencer Andrew Tate, with millions of followers worldwide on social media, is accused of forcing women in Romania to produce porn for OnlyFans and pocketing the profits. He has denied the charges.

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  • [–] 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    If this guy came along and made more off their work, who cares?

    I do. That's the thing I am complaining about. People who only contributed money taking the lion's share of the profits.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    But what if the original founders got enough? If we are against billionaires existing, shouldn't we be cheering on folks who find an off ramp before getting there?

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    Since I wasn't complaining about the original founders, I'm not sure that this hypothetical is relevant.

    What I do know is that a billion dollars is far more money than anybody needs to live extravagantly for the rest of their lives.

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