Woman discovers her secret santa is billionaire Bill Gates
A woman has hit the jackpot after working out that her Secret Santa at work is none other than Bill Gates.
The Microsoft billionaire didn't hold back on the gift giving either, and to be honest we're more than a little bit jealous.
Watch her open some of her gifts here:
Advert
Discussing her Secret Santa, 35-year-old Shelby was participating in RedditGifts exchanges for her 95th time when she discovered all of her Christmases came at once for Christmas 2019.
Microsoft founder Gates participates in the exchange each year, and Shelby had actually joked about the possibility of her secret Santa being the billionaire.
Taking to Reddit, she wrote: "I'm full-force in my getting-ready-for-bed routine. I check my phone one last time and I spy an email alert informing me that my RedditGifts Secret Santa package has shipped!
"I log in and am a bit taken aback that the package is being FedEx overnighted - sounds expensive. I also noticed that it was being shipped from Washington state, and as a seasoned RedditGifter, I remark to my husband, 'Huh, wouldn't it be something if my Santa was Bill Gates?'"
The following day, when Shelby went to pick her mystery package she recalled how the clerk shouted: "OH MY GOD! You're the BILL GATES package!!!!!! We've been waiting for you all day. Is this really from Bill Gates, or is it a hoax? Grab a cart because you're going to need it."
Sure enough, her mystery gifter was the 66-year-old technology billionaire, who had bestowed her with a whopping 81lbs of presents. So much that the huge box wouldn't even fit in her car.
Perhaps the most thoughtful gift of all was the donation he made to the American Heart Association, done in honour of Shelby's mother who had passed away in March 2019.
In amongst the mass of presents was a card from Gates which read: "Wow, I'm impressed that this is your 95th Reddit gift exchange! You seem like a very generous person, and I hope my gift makes you smile this Christmas.
"I've included some fun things to enjoy both at home and outdoors - plus a couple of great books I think you'll like.
"At the same time, I know no gift will ever make up for losing someone so important to you. I was very sorry to hear about your mom, and I've made a donation to the American Heart Association in her memory. I hope you and your family find your 'new normal' this holiday season."
Thanking Gates, Shelby wrote: "Bill Gates, you are a blessing. This year has been a complete rollercoaster of emotions for me; in March, I lost my mother completely unexpectedly only 10 days before my destination wedding.
"It has been hard to drum up holiday spirit this year, and this has been a zap taser of Christmas cheer. I have felt like I've been on another planet the past few days and I still cannot believe how lucky/cool/honored/all the adjectives I am to have had someone craft such a special and personal set of gifts just for little ol' me.
"And your donation to The American Heart Association in my mom's memory is the most special gift of all. It means more to me than I can express."
The impressive gifts from Bill Gates to Shelby included:
- Bill's Deck of Books 2019!
- A Harry Potter santa hat
- Hylian shield earrings
- A very heavy and beautiful handmade Zelda quilt
- A hammock (with bug net!)
- Almond Rocca, Seattle mint chocolates, Jelly Belly's
- Toys for my cat, Emmy!
- Seven packs of assorted Oreos
- A cat-themed logic game
- Eight hardcover books
- An extremely fancy manuscript copy of The Great Gatsby
- A candle with a passage from The Great Gatsby inscribed
- Two exceptional adult-level LEGO sets: Microscale Hogwarts and the retired UCS R2D2 (truth be told, I had previously splurged on both of these sets already; you must have gotten a perfect read on my interests so color me impressed!)
- A plethora of Twin Peaks gifts including a shirt and sweatshirt; a book by director Jonathan Sanger and some memorabilia from his collection including 5 scripts from season 2 of Twin Peaks, and an embroidered L.L. Bean jacket worn by crew members during the second season of the show.
Not too shabby for a gift exchange, we'd say!
Topics: Bill Gates, Money, Reddit
Niamh Spence