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Since it was founded in 2016 by a well-heeled Brit, OnlyFans has grown into a giant of x-rated content. The platform, whose current owner, a secretive Ukrainian-American, is reportedly looking to sell it for $8bn, is used by over 4m “creators”, who post content, and over 300m “fans”, who pay for it. In the 12 months to November 2023, the latest data available, it brought in revenue of $1.3bn. At around 50%, its operating margin was higher than those of tech giants such as Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft. OnlyFans has not only been an enormous financial success. It has transformed how porn is made, shared and consumed online.
