Topline
Tony Hsieh, who recently retired as CEO of online shoe and clothing retailer Zappos, has died at the age of 46, multiple news organizations have confirmed, due to complications from injuries sustained in a house fire.
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh speaks onstage during day 1 of the 2015 Life is Beautiful festival on ... [+]
Key Facts
An attorney for Hsieh said that Hsieh had been injured in a house fire while visiting family in Connecticut.
Megan Fazio, a spokesperson for DTP Companies, a Las Vegas-based enterprise with which Hsieh worked, said in a statement that he died peacefully and surrounded by family on Friday.
"Tony's kindness and generosity touched the lives of everyone around him, and forever brightened the world," the statement read. "Instead of mourning his transition, we ask you to join us in celebrating his life."
Key Background:
Hsieh was born in Illinois to parents of Taiwanese descent and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in computer science in 1995. A year later, Hsieh co-founded the internet advertising network LinkExchange. In November of 1998, LinkExchange was sold to Microsoft for $265 million. The following year, Hsieh agreed to join Zappos (then called ShoeSite.com) as the company's CEO. Over the next decade, Zappos' revenues skyrocketed to $1 billion. In 2009, Zappos was sold to Amazon for $1.2 billion, but Hsieh had remained with the company until his retirement in August of 2020. In 2010, he wrote the New York Times Best Seller "Delivering Happiness." Forbes estimated that he had a net worth of $840 million upon his retirement this summer.
Surprising Fact:
Hsieh lived in an Airstream trailer in a "trailer village" in downtown Las Vegas in 2015. Hsieh said the Airstream park was partially inspired by the Burning Man festival, but that "it's probably more accurate to describe it as an urban camping experience with everyone sharing the world's largest living room (which has a community kitchen and campfires)."
Crucial Quote:
"Just because you can't measure the ROI of something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. What's the ROI of hugging your mom?" - Tony Hsieh wrote in his best-selling book.
Big Number:
$1 million. That's the amount Hsieh donated to the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Las Vegas. He also bought all of the tickets in his box and gave them to his employees.
Further Reading:
Here Are 5 Leadership Lessons From Retiring Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh (Forbes)
Tony Hsieh, former Zappos CEO and 'tremendous visionary,' dies at 46 (CNN)
