OnlyFans has paid out $25 billion to creators since 2016, and I need assistance picking my jaw up off the floor. Some tech companies claim to be empowering creators by allowing them to use their platforms to generate revenue, but OnlyFans is actually handing creators a paycheck. The kind of money that creators are making on OnlyFans… that’s not just rent money, that’s generational wealth being generated via garter belt. According to OnlyFans CEO Keily Blair, OnlyFans isn’t just raking in cash for the company, they’re actively creating wealth for others.

First of all, yes. OnlyFans’ CEO is a woman, because we love a shattered glass ceiling. Secondly, that CEO said, “We’re creating wealth for others rather than profiteering.” That might be a perfectly polished soundbite, but it still hits way differently than Silicon Valley’s usual “creator economy” lip service. Blair’s the brains behind shifting the OnlyFans brand from being seen exclusively as a spicy platform to being embraced as a creator empowerment hub. Other tech executives talk about creating community, but Blair’s making sure her tech company is cutting checks. Take that, Zuckerberg.

If numbers are your thing, get excited! You’re gonna hear all about them. The big shiny number that’s front and center here is the $25 billion that’s been paid out to creators since 2016 — which is a whole $5 billion more than the $20 billion they’d calculated last year. OnlyFans allows creators to set their own rates, but they take 20% of every transaction that happens on the platform. There are more than 3 million creators on the platform, with over 200 million registered users paying up every month for access to those creators. Top earners report bringing home amounts in the millions every month, but the median take-home is… way less. Regardless, the amount of money that a select few of those more than 3 million creators have earned on OnlyFans totals more than the GDP of some small countries, and it’s all paid out to them in the form of tips and subscription fees.

As with all success stories, there’s a messy side. OnlyFans takes 20% of all transactions, which means that creators have generated roughly $31 billion — $6 billion of which has been pocketed by the platform. The income distribution is uneven, because only a handful of creators dominate the bulk of the earnings. There are also safety and reputation concerns, due to the number of times content has been leaked from the platform, and the stigma that surrounds being known as a creator on a site that built its reputation as the naughty little corner of the internet. There are also privacy concerns that crop up when users consider payment processing and age-verification laws. OnlyFans utilizes end-to-end encryption on all transactions, but hackers are perpetually getting better at what they do, and no digital system can guarantee safety in perpetuity from bad actors. There are also constant changes to regulations that both the platform and the creators who utilize it have to follow to make sure they’re complying with local laws, causing a never-ending battle between freedom of expression and staying compliant. For a company that profits from creators who peddle a fantasy, their legal department must live in a constant state of fight or flight.

Despite the pitfalls, OnlyFans isn’t just a digital content host. It’s a wealth-sharing platform, and it’s benefiting women creators in particular. Many women have been able to use OnlyFans to achieve financial independence, have job flexibility so they can work around the needs of young children, or even just have a way to escape traditional industries where they’re chronically underpaid. OnlyFans might not have the cleanest of reputations, but it’s sure paying more bills for its users than LinkedIn.