Zappos may be more closely linked to the late Tony Hsieh, but the online shoe-peddling juggernaut was actually started by a different man entirely: the quietly prolific Nick Swinmurn, an English-born American serial entrepreneur. It was Swinmurn who first came up with the novel idea of selling shoes online; before launching Zappos, he solicited an investment from Hsieh, who was already a wealthy angel investor due to his prior success with LinkExchange, the startup he sold to Microsoft in 1998 for $265 million. Though initially skeptical of the business model, Hsieh would ultimately infuse $2 million into Zappos, joining the firm shortly after its launch. The brilliant yet famously troubled entrepreneur then spent the next 21 years as company CEO.
Swinmurn cut professional ties with Zappos in 2006, weary of the growing company’s increasingly corporate culture and looking for fresh new startup challenges, though it seems certain his remaining equity holdings still allowed him to attain stratospheric wealth when Zappos was sold to Amazon in 2009 for $1.2 billion. Since then, the now 48-year-old has founded or cofounded a whole host of companies to varying degrees of success; none have come close to reaching the Zappos level of fame and fortune.
Long based in California’s Bay Area — he owns a sumptuous estate in the prestigious Silicon Valley of Hillsborough, acquired in 2017 for $6.8 million — Swinmurn is expanding his residential footprint down to Montecito, where records reveal he’s dropped $8.6 million on a lavish estate near the proverbial heart of town, just a quick jog to the homes of other financial heavy-hitters like Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, and Meghan Markle.
-
Image Credit: Redfin Built in 2010, the L-shaped mansion was modeled after the villas found in Tuscany and offers just over 5,000 square feet of luxury living space. The 1.8-acre lot is also remarkably secluded, invisible from the street behind a long gated driveway and set on a hidden flag lot. There’s a big front motorcourt with space for a half-dozen or more cars, plus a two-car garage attached to the main house.
-
Image Credit: Redfin A walkway hewn from stamped concrete leads past manicured boxwood hedges and Italian cypresses to the front door. In the foyer are checkerboard-style black and white tile floors, plus a grand staircase.
-
Image Credit: Redfin -
Image Credit: Redfin The living room offers recessed lights and a stone fireplace flanked by built-in bookshelves, while the formal dining room has dark hardwood floors; both spaces open to various patios off the backyard via French doors. There’s also a wine closet — with frosted glass doors and space for a couple hundred bottles of bubbly, at least — and a mudroom.
-
Image Credit: Redfin Described in the listing as “huge” and “open,” the home’s kitchen includes two large islands, one of then with inexplicably different coloredT wood cabinetry and stone countertops than the other. Naturally, the space includes high-end SubZero and Viking stainless appliances, in addition to a breakfast table area and a butler’s pantry. The adjoining family room has another fireplace and more faux wooden ceiling beams.
-
Image Credit: Redfin All four of the home’s bedrooms are located upstairs, and all of them sport full ensuite bathrooms. Though it doesn’t include a balcony, the master bedroom does offer a sitting area, fireplace, and garden views through big picture windows; the master bath has a built-in soaking tub and dual sinks plus ladies’ vanity.
-
Image Credit: Redfin -
Image Credit: Redfin -
Image Credit: Redfin Back downstairs, the family room opens via sliding glass doors to an expansive terrace, partially shaded by a wooden loggia. That space is dominated by a mammoth stone fireplace, which warms an al fresco entertaining area. Steps lead down to a large patio encircling the rectangular pool and its inset spa.
-
Image Credit: Redfin -
Image Credit: Redfin The poolside cabana offers a living room and a guest bedroom and bathroom. Other estate amenities include many fruit trees, mature olive trees, a vegetable garden, and even a garden of well-fed pink roses.
-
Image Credit: Redfin -
Image Credit: Redfin -
Image Credit: Redfin -
Image Credit: Redfin -
Image Credit: Redfin -
Image Credit: Redfin Josiah Hamilton of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices repped both sides of the transaction.