Woman discovers Reddit Secret Santa is billionaire Bill Gates

vt-author-image

By VT

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A woman has won the secret Santa jackpot and received an incredible set of presents from Bill Gates.

Identified only as Shelby, the Detroit native was participating in the RedditGifts exchange for her 95th time, and she took to the website to express her thanks after discovering that the billionaire Microsoft founder was her Secret Santa.

This turned out to be an everyday Christmas miracle for the woman, who sadly lost her mother earlier this year.

To see Shelby's reaction to discovering that Bill Gates is her secret Santa, check out the video below:
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgyk44G_WGk]]

Thanking Gates in a Reddit post, 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."

Prince Harry is another famous face who got into the holiday spirit this year. This was his inspirational message: 
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/iyZhXzqj-Q0L14jDU.mp4||iyZhXzqj]]

Shelby continued: "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."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/reddit/status/1208439055052103680]]

Hilariously, Shelby, 33, had previously joked to MarketWatch about eventually matching with Gates, who takes part in the exchange every year, saying: "I always thought it would be super cool to be matched with him someday, but I never really would have expected this to happen to me."

Taking to Reddit, Shelby 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?'"

Bill Gates smiling.
[[imagecaption|| Credit: PA Images]]

The next day, when Shelby arrived to collect her package, the clerk exclaimed: "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."

Shelby recorded herself unboxing her amazing presents:
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwTUiFKVJuQ]]

Gates included a card alongside the gifts 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."

He continued: "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."

This is the complete list of presents Bill Gave to Shelby:

  • 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 adult-level LEGO sets: Microscale Hogwarts and the retired UCS R2D2
  • Twin Peaks gifts which included memorabilia

Woman discovers Reddit Secret Santa is billionaire Bill Gates

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

A woman has won the secret Santa jackpot and received an incredible set of presents from Bill Gates.

Identified only as Shelby, the Detroit native was participating in the RedditGifts exchange for her 95th time, and she took to the website to express her thanks after discovering that the billionaire Microsoft founder was her Secret Santa.

This turned out to be an everyday Christmas miracle for the woman, who sadly lost her mother earlier this year.

To see Shelby's reaction to discovering that Bill Gates is her secret Santa, check out the video below:
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgyk44G_WGk]]

Thanking Gates in a Reddit post, 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."

Prince Harry is another famous face who got into the holiday spirit this year. This was his inspirational message: 
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/iyZhXzqj-Q0L14jDU.mp4||iyZhXzqj]]

Shelby continued: "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."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/reddit/status/1208439055052103680]]

Hilariously, Shelby, 33, had previously joked to MarketWatch about eventually matching with Gates, who takes part in the exchange every year, saying: "I always thought it would be super cool to be matched with him someday, but I never really would have expected this to happen to me."

Taking to Reddit, Shelby 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?'"

Bill Gates smiling.
[[imagecaption|| Credit: PA Images]]

The next day, when Shelby arrived to collect her package, the clerk exclaimed: "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."

Shelby recorded herself unboxing her amazing presents:
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwTUiFKVJuQ]]

Gates included a card alongside the gifts 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."

He continued: "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."

This is the complete list of presents Bill Gave to Shelby:

  • 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 adult-level LEGO sets: Microscale Hogwarts and the retired UCS R2D2
  • Twin Peaks gifts which included memorabilia