In the past year, OnlyFans’ profits have skyrocketed, and the news that its owner earned more than $300 million (£238 million) in dividends has raised fresh questions.

An estimated $2.1 billion is the net worth of Ukrainian-American entrepreneur Leonid Radvinsky, 41.

Guy and Tim Stokely started the company two years earlier with a £10,000 ($12,500) investment. He bought the company in 2018.

Millions of pounds are thought to have been paid for it. Who is he, and where does his money come from?

What do we know about him?

Simply put, not much. Despite the premise of his platform, Radvinsky keeps his private life private. Interviews with him are few and far between.

While he appears averse to publicity, his LinkedIn profile and personal website contain hints about his life.

His LinkedIn profile describes him as an investor, philanthropist, and technology entrepreneur with a “special interest in emerging social media platforms”.

According to Mr Radvinsky’s own website, he has spent the last two decades “building software companies and contributing to open source”.

According to CoinDesk, Mr Radvinsky’s company donated cryptocurrency to the Ukraine relief effort in 2022, and the amount came to more than $1.3 million in real-terms.

In addition to donating time, effort, and money to non-profit causes, Radvinsky also contributes to technological projects.

In addition to programming and philanthropy, he is an avid reader, chess player, and helicopter pilot, according to his website.

Where does he live?

The Daily Telegraph reported that his family settled in Chicago when he was a child. We do not know exactly where he lives now, but he apparently lives in the sunny state of Florida.

According to Forbes, the billionaire is married, but the BBC was unable to determine his spouse’s identity.

Business history

Radvinsky has been involved with pornography for a number of years before OnlyFans.

A graduate of Northwestern University, near Chicago, Illinois, Mr Radvinsky studied economics. The entrepreneur has undertaken several projects since then.

OnlyFans’ parent company, Fenix, was founded by him before he became sole shareholder.

Forbes reports that the firm began offering users passwords to content, including pornography, in the late 1990s.

His previous business was an adult webcam company, which he sold before purchasing OnlyFans.

A BBC interview request for Mr Radvinsky was not answered.

What is the company behind OnlyFans?

In spite of the fact that Mr Radvinsky is based in the US, Fenix, the company that owns OnlyFans, is still registered in the UK.

According to Companies House records, Lee Taylor is the company’s chief financial officer.

In December 2021, investor and founder Guy Stokely resigned from Fenix, the company that owns OnlyFans.

Tim Stokely, Guy Stokely’s son, stepped down as OnlyFans’ chief executive in October to pursue new endeavors.

As a result of Mr Radvinsky’s ownership, OnlyFans has flourished. Most of the content on it is safe for work, and its creators are no longer solely associated with pornography.

How much money does OnlyFans make?

London-based firm said in August 2023 that its pre-tax profits for the period reached $525m, up from $432m the previous year.

Over the past year alone, OnlyFans has added almost 3.2 million creators, and its users have grown by 27% to close to 239 million.

Despite its popularity, the platform has also received criticism and renewed attention from regulators and governments.

The BBC reported in 2021 that OnlyFans was failing to prevent underage users from selling and appearing in explicit videos.

During that time, OnlyFans claimed its age verification systems exceeded regulatory requirements.