The Curious Life and Curiouser Death of Tony Hsieh
By Romen Basu Borsellino | 05 Nov, 2025

Over four years after the bizarre death of the Zappos founder, a surprising discovery surprises family, friends and the probate judge.

In November 2020, months into a year already defined by unprecedented death, famed entrepreneur and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh was discovered trapped inside of a burning shed. He would ultimately succumb to the injuries and pass away. 

A memorial to Hsieh in Las Vegas, where Zappos is located

The story of Tony Hsieh is one of both triumph and tragedy. His unprecedented success was ultimately followed by a downward spiral.

It's now been five years since Hsieh passed, but the details of what he left behind — material and otherwise — still continue to unravel.

The recent discovered of a previously unknown will has shocked those involved with the succession of Hsieh's estate. In some ways, it's fitting conclusion to the story of a man known for disruption. 

An Innovator

Some define the American dream differently. In the strictest sense, Hsieh may not have been eligible to achieve it. He was born in Illinois to successful parents. 

And yet, for the son of Taiwanese immigrants to thrive in a country that has historically othered people who might look like him is very much the epitome of the American Dream. 

Some children of immigrants are able to succeed by simply putting their head down and doing the work. But Hsieh’s larger than life personality and disruptive approach were very much the opposite.

He began his entrepreneurial journey with a pizza delivery business based out of his Harvad dorm room.

And within just five years of graduating, he had already worked for tech giant Oracle and co-founded the advertising network LinkExchange, as  well as investment incubator Venture Frogs, and most notably, he then hopped on board the business venture that would ultimately define him: Zappos.

A book about Hsieh details his unorthodox management style

Zappos

Zappos was conceived as an online shoe-selling platform, which may not seem like a revolution. But mind you this was 1999. Less than a third of Americans had cellphones at this point. Few had predicted the extent of the tech boom that was just around the corner. 

To be clear, Hsieh did not found Zappos himself. That was entrepreneur Nick Swinmurn, who came to Hsieh and his business partner Alfred Lin in hopes of getting them to invest. 

The pitch, of which Hsieh was skeptical at first, pointed to the strength of shoe sales via paper mail-in catalogues, which Swinmurn believed would not be sustainable in the long term.

Hsieh came on board as an investor, and shortly after, became CEO. 

After less than a decade with Hsieh at the helm, Zappos shot from $1.6 million in total sales in 2020 to $1 billion in revenue in 2009, at which point the company became a subsidiary of Amazon. 

Hsieh’s visionary leadership brought new methods that few companies had ever explored, like free shipping and returns, and most notably, the workplace culture. 

Zappos did not have managers and their employees did not have job titles. Rather, “circles” and “roles” existed under a structure known as a holocracy.

With greater autonomy and less bureaucracy in the workplace, Zappos was consistently topping Forbes’ list of best places to work.  It became such a coveted place to work that it was only able to accept just 1% of applicants. 

In 2013 Zappos moved from Henderson, NV, to Las Vegas. By 2014 Zappos was valued at over $2 billion.

Post-Zappos Spiral

Success like Hsieh’s almost always comes at a cost. 

In 2019, approximately 20 years after he became CEO of Zappos, people close to Hsieh began sounding the alarm about behaviors that they viewed as increasingly erratic. 

It’s worth noting that he had previously been vocal about his mental health battles, which included depression.

Perhaps the first major red flag was his move from Las Vegas, where Zappos had been based, to the quiet town of Park City, Utah. 

Hsieh’s new life in Park City was reportedly defined by massive parties and a shift toward a new social circle.

Reports about his new Park City life included a fixation with flamethrowers that shot fire 20-25  feet in the air which his guests would play with at parties. 

Guests reported seeing walls in his home that were covered in post-it notes

He also began keeping a bizarre diet and sleep schedule. Under a philosophy called “biohacking,”  he was seldom eating and had dropped to under 100 pounds. 

He was also, allegedly, veering into substance abuse, which started with a ketamine spiral in 2019 and evolved into use of nitrous oxide — aka laughing gas — psychedelics, and heavy drinking. 

His friends and family attempted to stage interventions and get him the treatment he needed, but their efforts were unsuccessful. 

Mind you, this was largely in the midst of the COVID pandemic, a period accompanied by widespread deterioration of mental health,

He was also reported to have begun purchasing additional lavish homes in Las Vegas despite unfavorable market conditions. While he could certainly afford them, it made little sense for such a savvy businessman.

He also kept a massive staff at his mansion, all of whom were made to sign NDAs, sometimes daily. 

In August 2020, due to the aforementioned behavior, Hsieh stepped down as Zappos CEO. This was likely the final straw for Hsieh.

Three months later, he would be dead. 

Hsieh’s Death

Around Thanksgiving 2020 Hsieh was visiting the New London Connecticut lakefront home of his girlfriend, former Zappos employee Rachael Brown.

On November 18, the local fire department responded to a blaze that had started in the home’s shed. Hsieh was discovered locked inside and, once rescued, immediately transported to a local hospital to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation.

After nine days on life support, Hsieh passed away on November 27 at age 46.

The speculation as to the cause of the fire was swift, with many suspecting that he had taken his own life.  But an investigation by the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner drew a different conclusion: That this was an accident.

Hsieh had allegedly locked himself  into the shed.  Locking himself in rooms, sometimes for days on end, was a practice he had recently taken up.

It is suspected that the fire was started by a candle, cigarette, or similar object coming into contact with something flammable like a propane tank.

It was also understood that Hsieh had left behind no will, leaving plans for his $500 million estate up in the air. 

To further complicate matters, Hsieh had allegedly promised money to numerous people and causes, some of which were documented only via the post-it notes on his wall.

His family became embroiled in a years-long battle to fend off such claims.

And then, just this year, a bombshell dropped that would change everything.

The Mysterious Will

In 2022 nonagenarian Pir Muhammad passed away in Pakistan after a years-long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Three years later, while sorting through his possessions, Mohammad’s grandson came across a purported will belonging to the late Tony Hsieh.

The will, allegedly written by Hsieh in 2014, was signed by four witnesses in addition to Muhammad. It also bore the names of two co-executors, attorneys Robert Armstrong and Mark Ferrerio, in addition to Muhammad as well. 

Virtually nobody had previously been aware of this will, including Armstrong and Ferrerio. In a letter accompanying it, Hsieh explained that he had kept all of this a secret because:

“By doing so, I have structured my way of surprising and leaving essentially all my beneficiaries to experience the ‘WOW’ factor in their life. I want my beneficiaries to ‘live in the wow’ and to enjoy” the gifts as “a memorable and meaningful experience.”

The beneficiaries included institutions such as Harvard University, philanthropies such as the Gates Foundation, and individuals such as Hsieh’s family members.

This has all played out over just the past few months, with Nevada’s Judge Gloria Struman overseeing a search for more details surrounding the will, which has included attempts to contact the additional witnesses. 

In late September, the judge appointed Armstrong and Ferrerio special administrators of the estate.

“It’s odd,” Judge Struman conceded of the details of the will. “But it doesn’t mean it’s not valid. It’s just odd.” 

Hsieh’s father Richard, who had served as the estate’s administrator prior to the discovery of the will, will remain the administrator. 

A Legacy

While it’s anybody’s guess what will happen next, Judge Struman’s actions just far make it appear likely that the will will be honored. 

Beyond the material possessions found in Hsieh's estate, he leaves behind the legacy of a successful businessman who was able to thrive by thinking outside of the box.

And while that very legacy will hopefully be passed along to future innovators looking to make a positive difference, hopefully so too will the reminder that no amount of success should come at the cost of one’s health and safety.