Leonid Radvinsky Explained

Leo Radvinsky
Native Name:Леонід Радвінський
Native Name Lang:UK
Birth Name:Leonid Radvinsky
Birth Date:[1]
Birth Place:Odessa, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Education:Northwestern University
Years Active:1999-present
Known For:Majority owner of OnlyFans

Leonid Radvinsky is a United Kingdom-based[2] Ukrainian-American[3] billionaire businessman and computer programmer. He is the founder of the cam site MyFreeCams (through his holding company, MFCXY, Inc.),[4] [5] and the majority owner of content subscription service OnlyFans.

Biography

Radvinsky was born in Odesa and his family later emigrated to Chicago when he was a child.[6] In 2002, he graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in economics.[7] He is Jewish.[8]

Radvinsky operates a venture capital fund called "Leo", founded in 2009,[9] which invests mainly in tech companies.[10] Notable investments include Israel-based B4X and the social networking software Pleroma.[7] Radvinsky is also a supporter of the Elixir programming language.[3]

He donated $5 million to Ukraine relief in 2022 as well a cancer charity, an animal-welfare organization, and a skin-disorder-research fund.[7]

Career

Early career

In 1999, when Radvinsky was 17 years old, he helped incorporate Cybertania Inc., a website referral business.[6] During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Radvinsky developed more than ten websites such as Password Universe, Working Passes and Ultra Passwords that claimed and were advertised to provide users with "illegal" and "hacked" passwords to porn sites, where he earned money for every click.[6] [11] However, according to Forbes there wasn't any evidence suggesting the sites actually linked to illegal content.[12] Ultra Passwords reportedly earned $1.8 million a year in revenue during the 2000s.[7]

In 2004, he founded MyFreeCams, an adult streaming website.[6] The same year, Microsoft sued Radvinsky for allegedly sending millions of deceptive emails to Hotmail users, but the case was eventually dismissed.[13] [14]

OnlyFans

In 2018, he bought a 75% stake in OnlyFans' parent company Fenix International Ltd. from its British founders Tim Stokely and his dad Guy Stokely.[5] [15] [16] After this, OnlyFans became increasingly focused on not safe for work (NSFW) content and "gained a pop culture reputation for being a hive of pornography".[15] OnlyFans had annual revenues in excess of $6.6billion as of November 2023, with revenues growing 19% per year.[17] Radvinsky received $472million in dividends from the website in 2023, up from $338million and $284million in 2022 and 2021, respectively.[18] As of March 2024, he had an estimated net worth of $3.0 billion, per Forbes' Real-Time Billionaire rankings.[19]

Political activity

In 2023, according to The Lever's reporting on private financial documents, Radvinsky and his spouse contributed $11million to AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying group. When asked for comment, Radvinsky disputed the contribution.[20]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MR LEONID RADVINSKY. 2021-06-11. Company Check Ltd.
  2. News: 2023-08-25 . OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky receives $338m payout . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-09-01.
  3. Web site: About. Leonid. Radvinsky. A first-generation immigrant from Ukraine, technology was imprinted on Leo at an early age. 2021-06-11.
  4. Web site: Mfcxy, Inc. Company Profile. 2021-07-02. D&B.
  5. News: Nilsson . Patricia . OnlyFans blurs boundaries as lockdown demand drives success . 25 May 2021 . The Financial Times . 30 April 2021.
  6. News: The elusive porn baron behind OnlyFans. The Telegraph. Matthew Field. October 2022 .
  7. Web site: OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky's quest to join the super-rich. Business Insider. Jyoti Mann.
  8. Web site: The World's Jewish Billionaires 2022.
  9. Web site: Profile: Leo Radvindky. LinkedIn. 2021-06-12.
  10. Web site: Leo.com. Leo.com. 2021-06-11.
  11. News: Brewster . Thomas . Dawkins . David . The Shady, Secret History Of OnlyFans' Billionaire Owner . 20 June 2021 . . 16 June 2021.
  12. Web site: Brewster . Thomas . The Shady, Secret History Of OnlyFans' Billionaire Owner . 2024-09-02 . Forbes . en.
  13. News: Shaw . Lucas . OnlyFans Is a Billion-Dollar Media Giant Hiding in Plain Sight . 25 May 2021 . Bloomberg LP . 5 December 2020.
  14. Web site: Microsoft. Sep 28, 2004. 2021-07-02. Amazon.com, Microsoft Team Against Online Fraud. Microsoft, too, filed a new and separate lawsuit against Leonid ("Leo") Radvinsky and his Chicago-based businesses Activsoft, Inc., and Cybertania, Inc..
  15. News: Zitser . Joshua . 'Being made homeless is a perpetual fear': What it's like to risk everything just for posting on OnlyFans . 25 May 2021 . . 24 December 2020.
  16. News: 2023-08-27 . OnlyFans: Who is Leonid Radvinsky, the elusive owner of a porn empire? . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-09-21.
  17. Web site: Fenix International Limited - Filing History . GOV.UK . 11 September 2024.
  18. Web site: Fenix International Limited - Filing History . GOV.UK . 11 September 2024.
  19. Web site: The World's Real-Time Billionaires . Forbes . 29 March 2024.
  20. Web site: Barshad . Amos . Inside The Israel Lobby's New $90 Million War Chest . The Lever . 29 March 2024.