What Is Tony Hsieh's Net Worth? Mystery Surrounds Former Zappos CEO’s Death

After former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh died in a hospital of smoke inhalation from a fire that started at his Connecticut home last month, new details surrounding the moments that lead up to his death have surfaced.

Hsieh was abusing drugs and alcohol prior to his death and decided to seek treatment at a Hawaii rehab center the day before he died, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the Daily Mail, Hsieh, who had an estimated net worth of up to $850 million, was experimenting with psychedelic mushrooms and ecstasy and had a fascination with fire with more than 1,000 candles inside one of his homes. He would starve himself to under 100 pounds and became "fixated on trying to figure out what his body could live without" by depriving himself of oxygen and tried not to urinate, unnamed friends told the outlet.

Hsieh was also involved with nitrous oxide, which is known as laughing gas, and regularly would take in the form of “whippets” – straight from the cartridge of a whipped cream dispenser, the Mail said.

While much of Hsieh’s death remains a mystery, what is known is that he went to his shed with a heater and had barricaded himself inside, according to the 911 dispatch tape. He had told his friends to check on him every five minutes. He previously used a heater in his girlfriend’s shed to decrease his oxygen levels.

Hsieh died on Nov. 27, nine days after he was pulled from the burning shed by firefighters and was taken to a hospital. The authorities have said his death was accidental but the cause of the fire is still under review, the Journal said.

In the months leading up to his death, Hsieh had quit his job as CEO at shoe company Zappos. In 2009, Hseih sold the business to Amazon for more than $1 billion.

A colleague told the Daily Mail that Hsieh had surrounded himself with people that “enabled” his addictions, which were escalating.

In a letter from his long-time friend and singer Jewel, obtained by Forbes, she wrote to Hsieh about her concerns after a visit with him. She said, “I am going to be blunt. I need to tell you that I don't think you are well and in your right mind. I think you are taking too many drugs that cause you to disassociate.”

She continued, “You are in trouble, Tony. If the world could see how you are living, they would not see you as a tech visionary, they would see you as a drug addicted man who is a cliche.”

Hsieh was 46 when he died and did not leave behind a will, as reported by the Las Vegas Review Journal. Regarding his million-dollar fortune, court documents show his family was “unaware of the existence of a fully executed estate plan.”