The will of late Tony Hsieh, the late CEO of Zappos, an online shoe and clothing retailer, has been found nearly 4 1/2 years after his untimely death in a New London, Conn. house fire. The will was mysteriously found this past February in the personal belongings of Pir Muhammad, a man who suffered from Alzheimer’s and recently passed away, unaware that Tony had died. It’s unclear the connection between Tony and Pir or how they knew each other. The document, signed by Tony and five witnesses (including Pir) in 2015, was turned over to Clark County District Court in Nevada. One witness, who The Wall Street Journal reached for comment, acknowledged acting as a witness but declined to answer further questions. Pir and Robert Armstrong, a high-profile Nevada estate lawyer, were named as executors of his estate.
It appears that Tony intended this will to be a secret, giving Pir “exclusive possession” of the document to prevent any tampering. “By doing so, I have structured my way of surprising and leaving essentially all my beneficiaries to experience the ‘WOW’ factor in their life,” Tony wrote in the purported will. The court filing also mentions a video recording, though it’s unknown whether it was also found. This latest discovery adds another twist to an already bizarre case.
Downward Spiral
Reportedly worth hundreds of millions at the time of his death, Tony amassed his fortune largely from his $1.2 billion sale of Zappos to Amazon, as well as through his investment in the development of downtown Las Vegas. Previously unaware of the existence of any will, Tony’s family and inner circle have been battling it out in probate court over the tech entrepreneur’s assets (thousands of Post-it notes with potential deals and financial commitments to friends and colleagues were discovered at his Park City, Utah, mansion following his death). Tony spent the last years of his life battling substance abuse issues, and his estate has repeatedly argued that he didn’t have the mental capacity to enter into any legally binding contracts in the months and years leading up to his death. Court records detail some of the erratic and manic behavior of the troubled entrepreneur during that time, including his addiction to nitrous oxide.
Surprise Will
The will, if found to be valid, may bring some clarity as to Tony’s wishes. According to The Wall Street Journal, the will instructs that some $50 million and several Las Vegas properties be transferred into trusts (the beneficiaries of which aren’t known). The will allocates several million dollars in charitable donations, including $3 million to Harvard University, Tony’s alma mater, $500,000 to the American Red Cross and $250,000 each to the Buffett Foundation, Gates Foundation and Ford Foundation. Fortune reports that Tony left $500,000 to each of his four surviving family members. It’s not clear who will inherit the residual of the estate.
The purported will includes a no-contest clause aimed at his family, meaning if either of his parents or two brothers contest anything in the will, they’ll receive nothing. Though these types of clauses are generally enforceable, “a no-contest clause may not be enforced against a beneficiary who tries to invalidate the will, if based on the facts and circumstances, the beneficiary reasonably believed that the will was invalid,” explained Rochelle H. Schultz, a shareholder at Weinstock Manion. Given the circumstances surrounding the discovery of Tony’s will and the fact that Tony was battling substance abuse issues in the years leading up to his death, a will contest by the family, in this case, remains a possibility.
Validity of the Will
While the bequests in Tony’s will don’t appear out of the ordinary, Elyse Tyrell, a probate lawyer who read the will, tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the document is “convoluted” and uses language that suggests that an attorney hasn’t written it. For example, she says the document frequently refers to a “backup will” and instructs that the prior will takes effect if the new one fails or is contested by family.
Despite the oddity of the situation, “assuming that Tony’s will is valid, the Probate Court will determine how best to effectuate the terms of his will based on his wishes. Under certain circumstances, evidence may be used to show Tony’s intentions and clarify the terms of his will,” said Schultz.
A hearing regarding the will is set for this Thursday.