Tony Hsieh, the CEO of online retail giant Zappos who is worth an estimated $840 million. lives in a trailer park because money does not mean the same thing to him that it means to others.
Hsieh can afford to stay in a posh apartment or a mansion if he wishes to, but he prefers to stay in his 200-square-foot trailer in a park that he owns.
Hsieh left his 23rd floor condo to move to the trailer park. The trailers aren't particularly cheap to buy - a 2013 model has a price tag of $48,000. Around 30 trailers are lined up next to each other in a dilapidated area of downtown Las Vegas that is miles away from the Strip.
The trailer park full of silver Airstreams attracts a number of computer programmers from Silicon Valley who temporarily call it home. The trailers generally have a Bluetooth stereo system, two TVs and wood paneling.
Hsieh shares the trailer with his pet alpaca called Marley and has nicknamed the caravan "Llamapolis."
Erik Moore, an early investor with Zappos, told Business Insider that money doesn't matter to Hsieh.
"If he only had a million dollars left, he'd spend $US999,999 to make Vegas work. He would be just as happy with a dollar in the bank and being around people he cares about and care about him," says Moore.
Hsieh also has a different vision of work-life balance.
"A lot of companies talk about work-life balance. We're more about work-life integration. At the end of the day, it's life," per Hsieh.
Hsieh has a different approach to leading his company, one referred to as "Holacracy." Employees in Hsieh's company have a voice in running the organization in what are called concentric circles of responsibility, and choose which circles they belong to and what projects they work on to accomplish tasks. It is hoped people within the company can settle tensions more easily and have a higher level of trust in others.
Hsieh has also invested about $350 million in downtown Las Vegas to make the region more attractive to investors.
Photo: Nan Palmero | Flickr
