he paid for the bits of the treehouse (that he didn't get free on craigslist) with his carpentry jobs in Whistler, right? so no. he paid for it.

On what he does next, who's to say. In his own words:

"I now feel like I want to create something new, something of value that also doesn’t belong to anyone. It will be radically different in form and function than the Hemloft, however, it will have some similar characteristics: it will be remote, it will have a minimal footprint, it will be built mostly out of used materials, and it will push the boundaries of design."

Maybe he's lying. But the dude can at least build cool treehouses.