Woman stunned after discovering Bill Gates is her Secret Santa: ‘It means more to me than I can express’
Gift package includes collection of books personally selected by Gates
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Your support makes all the difference.A Reddit user from Michigan was the lucky recipient of a collection of Christmas presents from billionaire Bill Gates as part of an annual Secret Santa gift exchange.
Shelby, who goes by Szor on Reddit, has participated in 95 gift exchanges on RedditGifts, where users from around the world are paired up by the website so they can send one another presents.
Gates, whose estimated net worth is $110bn (£93.7bn), regularly takes part in Reddit’s Secret Santa gift exchange.
Speaking to MarketWatch, Shelby explained she “always thought it would be super cool” to be matched with Gates, but explained she was completely shocked to discover she had been paired with the Microsoft co-founder this year.
When Shelby went to collect the the package from FedEx, which weight 81lbs (36kg), it was too large to fit in her car.
“So we had to take all of the presents out individually,” Shelby explains in a YouTube video.
When Shelby, 33, opened the package, she found a letter signed by Gates in which he described her as a “very generous person”.
“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 wrote.
Gates was also made aware that Shelby lost her mother recently and informed her that he had made a donation to the American Heart Association in her memory.
Shelby filmed a video of herself unwrapping all of the presents, which were chosen specifically to suit her tastes.
The gifts included Twin Peaks memorabilia, a Harry Potter Lego set, and a bound manuscript of her favourite book,The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald.
“This has been very thoughtful,” Shelby said, adding that the donation to the American Heart Association means “so much” to her.
You can see the full list of Shelby’s gifts on Reddit and below:
- A Harry Potter Santa hat
- Hylian shield earrings
- Bill’s Deck of Books 2019
- A handmade Zelda quilt
- A hammock
- Almond Rocca, Seattle mint chocolates, Jelly Belly’s
- Cat toys
- Seven packs of assorted Oreos
- A cat-themed logic game
- Eight hardcover books
- A manuscript copy of The Great Gatsby
- A candle with a passage from The Great Gatsby inscribed
- Two adult-level LEGO sets: Micro-scale Hogwarts and the retired UCS R2D2
- Twin Peaks memorabilia including five scripts from season two of the show and an embroidered L.L. Bean jacket worn by crew members during filming
Shelby concluded her Reddit post listing the gifts by writing “thank you” to Gates, adding: “Let’s play cards together some time.”
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