Tributes pour in on Twitter in the wake of former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh's death
Andy Cross / The Denver Post via Getty Images
- Investors, journalists, politicians, and tech founders are paying tribute to former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, who died Friday, according to multiple reports.
- Hsieh died at 46 from injuries sustained during a house fire in Connecticut while visiting family.
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News of Tony Hsieh's death rumbled social media Saturday morning as investors, journalists, politicians, and tech founders paid tribute to the former Zappos CEO.
Hsieh died at 46 from injuries sustained during a house fire in Connecticut, according to multiple reports.
Amazon in 2009 acquired Zappos, an online shoe and clothing retailer, for a hefty $1.2 billion. Hsieh was involved with Zappos for two decades before he retired, continuing in the role even after the sale to Amazon. He stepped down in August.
"The world has lost a tremendous visionary and an incredible human being," Zappos CEO Kedar Deshpande said in a statement. "We recognize that not only have we lost our inspiring former leader, but many of you have also lost a mentor and a friend."
Among those posting tributes to Twitter are Ivanka Trump, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Recode Founder Kara Swisher, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, and scores of startup and tech CEOs.
Other Nevada leaders heralded Hsieh, who is recognized as a major influencer in the formation of several downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, initiatives.
Hsieh in 2012 founded the Downtown Project, for example, a $350 million investment intended to revitalize the Las Vegas downtown area.
Las Vegas legislator Cedric Crear wrote that he was "saddened" by the news of Hsieh's death. Crear, like many others, took to Twitter in the wake of Hsieh's death to commemorate the late entrepreneur.
"Such a creative & innovative person who positively helped change the landscape of Downtown Las Vegas," he tweeted. "We have been working on some cool projects for Downtown. God speed to his family, coworkers and our community."
Here are the tributes that poured in on Twitter to commemorate Hsieh's life:
—Andrew Yang???????????? (@AndrewYang) November 28, 2020
Ivanka Trump, advisor to President Donald Trump
—Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) November 28, 2020
Peter Pham, cofounder and partner of startup Science
—Peter Pham (@peterpham) November 28, 2020
Brooke Hammerling, founder of communications advisory group The New New Thing
—Brooke Hammerling (@brooke) November 28, 2020
Garry Tan, Initialized Capital cofounder and former Y Combinator partner
—Garry Tan (@garrytan) November 28, 2020
Kara Swisher, tech journalist and Recode cofounder
—Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) November 28, 2020
Alfred Lin, partner at Sequoia Capital
—Alfred Lin (@Alfred_Lin) November 28, 2020
Tony Hawk, skateboarding legend
—Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) November 28, 2020
Chris Sacca, investor and former "Shark Tank" judge
—Chris Sacca ???????? (@sacca) November 28, 2020
Ali Partovi, NEO CEO and former LinkExchange founder
—Ali Partovi (@apartovi) November 28, 2020
Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of Vayner Media
—Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) November 28, 2020
Steve Sisolak, Nevada governor
—Governor Sisolak (@GovSisolak) November 28, 2020