Ex-Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh pulled from blazing waterfront Connecticut home but succumbed to his burns

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The multimillionaire former CEO of online shoe store Zappos died on Friday at the age of 46, nine days after he was dragged unconscious from a blazing Connecticut house in the middle of the night.

Tony Hsieh was a beloved Las Vegas-based free-thinker and revolutionary entrepreneur, worth an estimated $840 million.

He needed CPR on the scene and was airlifted from an initial hospital in New London to a facility in Bridgeport.

Hsieh’s brother Andy and Dave were with him in the house at the time, but managed to escape, and the alarm was raised at 3:30am on November 18.  

Property records show that the modest-seeming house where the fire broke out was bought by a business associate of Hsieh’s in August – the same time as Hsieh retired from Zappos.  

Thomas Curcio, chief of New London fire fighters, said that the alarm was raised and they were told a fire had trapped someone in the home. 

All of New London’s fire vehicles responded to the scene, Curcio said.

Firefighters forced their way in to the house, removed the victim and started CPR, Chief Curcio said.  

The victim was taken to Lawrence + Memorial hospital in New London, and later transferred to Bridgeport Hospital in a Lifestar helicopter. 

When Hsieh died on Friday, his family was by his side, according to The Associated Press.   

Hsieh, who was born in Illinois and was the son of Taiwanese immigrants, studied at Harvard University before he joined Zappos – then called ShoeSite.com – in 1999. 

As CEO, he helped transform the fledgling internet start-up into a billion-dollar business. Zappos was sold to Amazon for $1.2 billion in 2009, but Hsieh remained with the company until his retirement earlier this year. 

While Hsieh became known for his business acumen, it was his philanthropy and his focus on fostering a positive workplace culture for which he is now being remembered.   

Hsieh, who had a passion for llamas and alpacas, had a pet alpaca named Marley and dog Blizzy. 

He lived in an Airstream trailer, part of a village of tiny homes in downtown Las Vegas that also was part of his vision and became known as Llamapolis. 

Ivanka Trump was among those paying tribute to Hsieh, who she worked with through her fashion business.   

‘Celebrating the life while mourning the loss of my dear friend Tony Hsieh,’ she wrote. 

‘Tony was a deeply original thinker always challenging me to reject conformity & follow my heart. Tony was driven by the mission of delivering happiness & brought joy to all who knew him.’ 

Ivanka Trump previously had a shoe line which was sold on Zappos.com.  

For years, Hsieh worked to revitalize downtown Las Vegas, pledging $350 million in 2013 for redevelopment. The same year he moved Zappos’ headquarters into the former Las Vegas City Hall building. 

‘Tony Hsieh played a pivotal role in helping transform Downtown Las Vegas,’ Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak tweeted Friday night.

‘Kathy and I send our love and condolences to Tony´s family and friends during this difficult time.’

A wave of other tributes have also poured in on social media. 

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang said on Saturday morning: ‘I am stunned. Tony Hsieh touched so many lives and inspired so many entrepreneurs. 

‘His impact and legacy will go on and on. I met his family in Las Vegas – and am thinking of them today. RIP Tony. You will be missed.’ 

Skateboarder and entrepreneur Tony Hawk added: ‘Tony Hsieh was a visionary. He was generous with his time and willing to share his invaluable expertise with anyone.’

Jimmy Kimmel and New York Times reporter Kara Swisher are also among the big names who have tweeted. 

Back in 2010, Hsieh published the best-seller book Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose, in which he asserted that happy employees made for a more successful business.  

One quote from the book read: ‘Money alone isn’t enough to bring happiness . . . happiness is when you’re actually truly okay with losing everything you have.’

He insisted on a $36,000 annual salary, The New York Times reported, and he sat in an unassuming cubicle among the other employees. 

When Zappos set up a new warehouse in Kentucky, the paper said, he packed a pickup truck with materials, drove to Kentucky and got to work bolting together shelves and unpacking shoes. 

Despite his immense wealth, Hsieh was known for living in an Airstream trailer in downtown Las Vegas.  

Back in 2014, he transformed a parking lot in the city into a ‘micro-living oasis’, made up of around 30 RVs. 

He also had two pet llamas which lived in the trailer park community with him.  As of 2020, he was still living in the tiny trailer, unmarried and with no children.

In 2012, he told the New York Times that he enjoyed ‘hanging out with different people’ rather than formally dating. 

‘I’m not opposed to the idea of marriage,’ he said. 

‘But statistically, if half of all marriages end in divorce, and of the ones that remain married many are unhappily married, the odds are stacked against you.’