OnlyFans owner gets over $725m in dividends in two years

Profit soared on Mr Leonid Radvinsky's social media service thanks to users and creators flocking to the platform. PHOTOS: LEO RADVINSKY/FACEBOOK, ONLYFANS/FACEBOOK

LONDON - Social media subscription service OnlyFans has paid its owner, Mr Leonid Radvinsky, about US$517 million (S$725 million) in dividends since the end of 2020, as profit soared thanks to users and creators flocking to the platform known for its pornographic content during the global pandemic.

OnlyFans posted pretax profits of US$433 million in the year ended Nov 30, seven times more than it earned in the previous year, it said in its annual report on Thursday.

Mr Radvinsky received US$284 million in dividends for the period and an additional US$233 million in 2022 through the end of August, the company said.

Founded in 2016, the London-based company offers a portal for people to sell subscriptions for content directly to their followers, from which it takes a 20 per cent cut.

Although OnlyFans hosts a wide range of content, it is best known for pornography, a category it said it would drop last year before reversing the decision a week later.

Mr Radvinsky has a background in adult entertainment and direct marketing and is the sole owner of OnlyFans' holding company, Fenix International.

In 2004, Microsoft sued Mr Radvinsky for allegedly sending millions of deceptive e-mails to Hotmail customers. His lawyers responded that the allegations were without merit, and the case was later dismissed.

Revenue rose to US$932 million in the period from US$358 million a year earlier, as OnlyFans more than doubled the number of subscribers and boosted the number of creators by more than a third, the annual report said.

OnlyFans said its priorities this year include cyber security, content moderation, government relations and promoting its new video streaming service OFTV. BLOOMBERG

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.