According to the Wall Street Journal, a newly uncovered will indicates that the late Tony Hsieh, co-founder of Zappos, had specific plans for his wealth, contradicting earlier assumptions that he died intestate with an estate estimated at $1.2 billion.
The document, which was signed in 2015 and recently filed in court, includes a strict no-contest clause directed at Hsieh’s family. This clause specifies that if any of his four family members contest his wishes, none will receive anything. Additionally, the will allocates over $50 million and several Las Vegas properties to undisclosed trusts associated with beneficiaries he intended to surprise.
Significantly, Hsieh also designated $3 million for Harvard University, his alma mater. Harvard is currently engaged in a legal dispute with the Trump administration, which has frozen billions in federal funding and is reportedly scrutinizing its endowment concerning investments in China and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.
The discovery of this will introduces another unexpected detail to the ongoing legal proceedings regarding Hsieh’s estate, following his death in November 2020 in a house fire at the age of 46. It is reported that Hsieh designed the will to create a “WOW factor” for the beneficiaries, with the intention of allowing them to “live in the wow.”
