Leonid Radvinsky, the 43-year-old billionaire owner of pornographic subscription platform OnlyFans, has died after battling cancer, the company disclosed on Monday.

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

Mr Radvinsky took over the reins of Fenix International Limited, the parent company of OnlyFans, in 2018.

British entrepreneur Tim Stokely founded OnlyFans in 2016 until 2018, when Mr Radvinsky took over Fenix International Limited, the parent company of OnlyFans, after buying a majority stake.

Mr Radvinsky is a dual citizen of Ukraine and the U.S., who served as a director on Fenix’s board. Forbes pegged his net worth at $4.7 billion.

Shortly after he acquired OnlyFans, the adult site gained global prominence in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown kept many people at home and active on social media.

The lockdown drove a surge in OnlyFans subscriptions by hundreds of millions. The company makes $1 billion in revenue annually by taking a 20 per cent cut from revenue generated by erotic creators.

OnlyFans currently has over 300 million users worldwide.

Before Mr Radvinsky’s death, OnlyFans had reportedly been put up for sale, with investment firm Architect Capital said to be considering a deal worth $5.5 billion.