Tony Hsieh, man who introduced advertising to the internet, dead at 46

Tony Hsieh , man who introduced advertising to the internet, dead at 46

The former Zappos CEO played a major role in the redevelopment of downtown Las Vegas in recent years.

ByOn 11/28/20 at 4:21 AM ESTShareInternetTony Hsieh, the former CEO of Zappos.com who pioneered internet advertising and revolutionized the shoe business, died on Friday aged 46. He was with family at the time.Hsieh had retired from Zappos, the iconic online shoe retailer, earlier this year after 21 years. He'd also been a key figure in revitalizing downtown Las Vegas, as well as an inspiration to other entrepreneurs.

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"It is with very heavy hearts that we are sharing some very sad news with all of you, as we have learned that Tony passed away earlier today," Zappos CEO Kedar Deshpande said in a letter posted to the company's website.Amazon's $500 Million Worker Bonus Is Less Than Company Makes in Single Day

Read more"Though Tony retired this past summer, we know what a tremendous impact he has had on both Zappos and on Zapponians, as he has dedicated the past 20 years focusing on the success of both the company and our employees."Newsweek subscription offers > headtopics.com

His cause of death has not been announced.Hsieh is widely regarded as the man who brought advertising to the internet through advertising network LinkExchange, which he co-founded in 1996.Microsoft purchased LinkExchange for $265 million in 1998 when Hsieh was just 24 years old. He went on to invest $500,000 in ShoeSite.com in 1999, an idea conceived by a younger entrepreneur, Nick Swinmurn.

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