A sign with a tribute to former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is displayed at the Golden Gate in downtown Las Vegas Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020. Hsieh played a pivotal role in the redevelopment of downtown Las Vegas. Hsieh died on Friday, Nov. 27 at age 46.
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 | 1:52 p.m.
Tony Hsieh, the retired CEO of online shoe retailer Zappos, left no will before he died last month in Connecticut, court documents said.
Documents filed in court in Nevada on Wednesday on behalf of his family said they are “unaware of the existence of a fully executed estate plan and have a good faith belief that the Decedent died intestate.”
The Connecticut state medical examiner’s office said Hsieh, who lived in Las Vegas, died Friday after being rescued and hospitalized following a fire in New London, Connecticut, on Nov. 18. He was 46.
Hsieh died from complications of smoke inhalation, the state medical examiner’s office said. His death has been ruled an accident.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
Hsieh's father Richard Hsieh and his brother Andrew Hsieh have asked for an order that would allow them to access his accounts and protect his assets. His mother Judy and other brother David were listed as next of kin.
The family’s lawyers wrote that they “seek authority to investigate the existence of an estate plan by accessing safe deposit boxes, speaking with the Decedent’s legal counsel and associates, and taking such other reasonable acts to ensure that Decedent’s properly executed testamentary directives are implemented.”
Hsieh led the Las Vegas-based company Zappos for 20 years before retiring. The Harvard University graduate remained at the online retailer even after it was sold in 2009 to Amazon for $1.2 billion.
