Tony Hsieh, retired CEO of online shoe retailer Zappos, left no will to pass on his massive wealth, according to court documents.
Richard and Andrew Hsieh, the entrepreneur’s father and brother, respectively, filed documents on behalf of the family last Wednesday in Nevada and were granted management of Tony’s estate. The documents stated the family was “unaware of the existence of a fully executed estate plan and have a good faith belief that the decedent died intestate,” according to Fox News.
U.S. News reported that the family’s lawyers wrote that the intent of their filing was to “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 died from complications of smoke inhalation last month in Connecticut following rescue from a fire on November 18. He was 46. His death has been ruled an accident. (RELATED: Connecticut To Impose $100 Fine For Going Maskless In Public)
An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
Hsieh, a Harvard University grad, led the Las Vegas-based online retailer Zappos for 20 years until it was sold to Amazon in 2009 for $1.2 billion. Forbes reported that he invested more than $350 million into downtown Vegas, transforming it into an “arts, cultural and tech hub.”
Hsieh remained at the company even after it was sold, until his retirement last summer.