I worked for one of the startups Tony funded in Vegas and was around for most of the Downtown Project stuff, and was also one of the most vocal critics of what happened there. This story covers just the tip of the iceberg.<p>I'm really sorry he died, even though I was horrified by the externalities of what he did in my town and, frankly, didn't much like the cat personally. But this idea that all of this started when he went to Park City is just not true. The culture of heavy boozing and drugs was very much always a big factor in the Vegas downtown tech scene. I don't think that statement would be considered controversial by anyone who was around for the real surge of it, from about 2010 - 2014 or so. And look, I'm not a Puritan or an abstainer, but it's hard to take people seriously when most of the meetings seem to be done whole day drinking at the casino or by the pool in the Ogden condo.<p>Whatever. It's all over with now. I didn't even know Tony had left town - he'd stopped really making the scene outside his trailer park long before that. I wish he'd had people who could help him, but he spent a long time being told that he was an instinctual visionary whose every act was an act of genius. That isn't very good for honest self-evaluation.<p>I wish everything had happened differently, but it didn't. It's a shame.
One simple and obvious lesson to point out here is that you better make peace with yourself before coming into possession of any large sum.<p>Money can destroy you just as easily as it can empower you. Look at what happens to a significant percentage of lottery winners.<p>It's an amplifier, and it can amplify your problems and self-destructive tendencies along with your desire to do good.
Within minutes of his death breaking the news, someone in the comment posted on HN about this enablement. I had skepticism but it also felt way too specific and out of nowhere for me to think they were lying. It was heartbreaking to eventually realize it was indeed the truth.
I appreciate the more nuanced view of the way his entourage both enabled and tried to help him. Earlier coverage (that I saw) just focused on the fact that all his friends were on his payroll and were forbidden from trying to get him to rehab or an intervention. But it sounds like many were trying to help in ways they could come up with that Tony would tolerate - hiring the doctor, for example. And it sounds like his family had started considering a conservatorship, as well.<p>I'm glad to have the impression that he wasn't surrounded only by sycophants - it sounds like he was a fundamentally good person trying to do good in the world, and it's a more positive thought that many of his friends were trying to meet him where he was and get him back on track, rather than only enabling his downward spiral - though certainly it sounds like there was plenty of that, too.
"Among the many friends the entrepreneur made over his life, some said the cause of his death had spanned many months, in plain sight to those who surrounded him. Last summer, his Park City companions hired an on-call doctor. Unless Mr. Hsieh moderated his drug and alcohol use, the doctor said, he would die within six months."<p>It's one thing to overly indulge a billionaire friend, it's another to endanger his physical/mental well being to the point of death.
I didn't know about this.<p>I can't open the link, but I read <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/technology/tony-hsieh-death.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/technology/tony-hsieh-dea...</a> and the whole thing seems classic untreated bipolar disorder.<p>I wonder how much of SV shenanigans can be attributed to manic breakdowns. There was already a "hypomanic advantage" meme going around a while ago; and, of course, thinking you can slightly toe the line towards a controled flirt with mania is classical bipolar anosognosia.<p>PSA: For many years, I self-administered the Young's Mania Ratings Scale everytime I felt the scales begin to tip. It's very short and impressively insightful. You might not know what mania is actually is, and if you live a high-intensity lifestyle you owe it to yourself to take it just once:<p><a href="https://psychology-tools.com/test/young-mania-rating-scale" rel="nofollow">https://psychology-tools.com/test/young-mania-rating-scale</a>
“In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.”
The excerpts from Jewel's letter to Tony are heartbreaking. It seems that she saw where he was headed, the situation he had put himself in, and what was likely to happen as a result.<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2020/12/04/tony-hsiehs-american-tragedy-the-self-destructive-last-months-of-the-zappos-visionary/?sh=1071631e4f22" rel="nofollow">https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2020/12/04/tony-hs...</a>
> Ms. Baleson helped spearhead plans for a wellness center at the Ranch, hoping to pull Mr. Hsieh out of his spiral. The plans were canceled in September after a disagreement in the group over who should get a commission for the project.<p>Sheesh... this really sums it up. Tragic.
The sticky notes of meaningless delusions/motivational words younger grade schoolers may be urged to think and write about how they feel of them seem oddly reminiscent of pictures surrounding Kanye West in recent years. For quite some time, and still, I believe he's going to end up at the center of the next cult shootout we see in the US.<p>I was lucky to have met Tony twice, having a decent discussion one time. What happened is really unfortunate, and I feel as if we're going to see very similar situations unfold with many of those who are new money making a fortune from tech. I imagine it's got to be unfathomably hard to stay grounded and find meaning after acquiring so much money. All the syncophants in the world will come after you, and as it's been seen with Musk, many others will attempt to bet against any future endeavors of yours just to make a quick buck.
Reminder: Nitrous can be highly addictive: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25327689" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25327689</a>
With all due respect (and not saying these groups have overlap) there is a notable presence of people on Hacker News that minimize the danger of or encourage drug experimentation, if not regular drug use.<p>Tony Hsieh is ultimately responsible for his choices that led to his tragic and early death. But it leaves a bad taste to see people calling out his entourage here and then other people advocating similar behavior in other submissions.
This is a tragedy and I sympathize with everyone involved. Also, a lesson to not surround yourself with sycophants and drugs. It's easy to blame the sycophants, but Mr. Hsieh would have replaced anyone who tried to help. Imagine you're around and care about him. Is it better to stick around and try to help, as they attempted with the wellness center and doctor, or just leave him to the wolves?
US-centric views of love have evolved more towards ‘if it feels right, do it’<p>It feels odd to tell anyone ‘no’ because people think you are judging them, so most just stay quiet.<p>In a different culture, Tony may have survived if people felt comfortable questioning dangerous behavior.
Most narcos do the same thing. Escobar was powerful, in part, because he donated millions of dollars for the construction of residential units in Colombia.