Surprise Will of Late Zappos CEO Adds New Twist for His Fortune

When troubled entrepreneur Tony Hsieh died in a fire, he left behind thousands of sticky notes on the walls of his home in Park City, Utah, many promising millions of dollars to former colleagues and friends.

With no sign of a will, the former Zappos CEO’s family and the circle of hangers-on who had witnessed his descent into alcohol and drug abuse spent years fighting over his estate in court. Now, a mysterious court filing found in the possessions of a dead man suggests that Hsieh may have left behind a legal record of his final wishes.

Hsieh amassed a fortune from the sale of online shoe-retailer Zappos to Amazon for $1.2 billion and from investments in property across downtown Las Vegas, his adopted hometown.

A document that appears to be Hsieh’s will was included in a recent court filing, a surprising development in an already bizarre and dramatic fight over his fortune. Signed in early 2015, the document suggests Hsieh had crafted a vision for the future of his money after all, one that he intended to keep secret from his beneficiaries.

For more information see Angel Au-Yeung and Katherine Sayre “Surprise Will of Late Zappos CEO Adds New Twist for His Fortune,” MSN.com, May 6, 2025. 

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2025/05/surprise-will-of-late-zappos-ceo-adds-new-twist-for-his-fortune.html