Tony Hsieh’s will discovered years after his death

Tony Hsieh left a will that was just discovered —more than four years after his death, according to a new court filing that could upend the tech mogul’s probate case and legal battles over his estate.

Hsieh’s father has been managing his son’s estate through a probate case in Clark County District Court, and his legal team has stated multiple times in court filings that the younger Hsieh died without a will.

But in a surprise twist to a protracted legal drama that has involved lawsuits, creditors’ claims and detailed accounts of Hsieh’s drug use and bizarre behavior in his final year alive, lawyers who aren’t working for Hsieh’s family filed court papers Thursday evening with Hsieh’s will and outlined how it was found.

The seven-page last will and testament was dated March 13, 2015, and signed by Hsieh and several witnesses, as seen in the filing by attorneys with law firms McDonald Carano and Greenberg Traurig, who represent named executors.

The will was found in late February in the personal belongings of the late Pir Muhammad, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and was not aware that Hsieh had died, according to a letter enclosed in the filing, which showed that Muhammad was named a co-executor.

The will indicates that Hsieh gave Muhammad “exclusive possession” of the original to prevent anyone from potentially tampering with his wishes or destroying the will, and that Hsieh made a “recorded video” as an “additional precaution.”

He also indicated that none of his beneficiaries would be told about his plans in the will until after he died, and that by doing so, he had structured a way to surprise them and for them to “experience the ‘WOW’ factor in their life.”

Donations

Hsieh named Robert Armstrong of McDonald Carano as co-executor with Muhammad and stated that if either of them failed to act, he appointed Mark Ferrario of Greenberg Traurig as his contingent executor.

Muhammad signed the will, but neither Armstrong nor Ferrario did, the document shows.

All told, these individuals were “suitable, highly qualified, experienced and competent enough to manage and distribute my portfolio and my large estate per my wishes,” the will stated.

His representatives were granted authority to settle his debts, control his assets and take other legal and financial actions, according to the will.

Notably, Hsieh gifted $3 million to his alma mater Harvard University, $500,000 to the American Red Cross and $250,000 each to Goodwill of Southern Nevada and affordable-housing developer Nevada HAND, the will shows.

Holland & Knight partner Vivian Thoreen, an attorney for Hsieh’s father in the probate case, said in a statement Friday that the estate “continues to take all alleged manifestations of Tony Hsieh’s intent seriously.”

Greenberg Traurig declined to comment, saying it can’t discuss active matters.

Probate case

Hsieh, the former CEO of online shoe seller Zappos and the face of downtown Las Vegas’ economic revival, died on Nov. 27, 2020, at age 46 from injuries suffered in a Connecticut house fire.

He was unmarried and died as one of downtown’s biggest property owners, having amassed a portfolio of apartment complexes, office buildings, empty lots and other sites through a side venture originally called Downtown Project.

After his death, multiple parties filed court papers alleging they had business dealings with Hsieh and staked claims against the estate.

Court cases also have included detailed accounts of Hsieh’s erratic behavior in his final year alive, as well as allegations that people close to Hsieh took advantage of him financially as his health spiraled downward.

Less than a week after Hsieh’s death, attorneys for his family filed court papers stating that he had died “intestate,” or without a will.

The family was “unaware of the existence of a fully executed estate plan” but sought to investigate the existence of one by accessing safe deposit boxes, speaking with Hsieh’s legal counsel and associates, and taking other actions to ensure that his directives are implemented, the filing said.

As recently as this past November, attorneys for Hsieh’s father stated in court papers that the younger Hsieh died intestate.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.