Bill Gates Played Secret Santa with a Complete Stranger, and Received a Perfect Gift

Secret santa gift exchanges are always a lot of fun, whether in your office or friend circle, or with a total stranger. Sometimes you can score a really fantastic “Santa” as well. For example, an unidentified Reddit user got Bill Gates this year!

The Reddit Secret Santa gift exchange began in 2009 and since then, about a million people worldwide have gotten involved, each playing Secret Santa to a complete stranger. Celebrities have started joining in on the fun too, this year the CEO of eBay even sent boxes and boxes of presents to a lucky giftee.

But, of course, there’s a lot of pressure. Because if a hugely famous person is your Secret Santa, that means someone has to be their Santa as well! For example: Bill Gates participates in the gift exchange every year. He’s worth $93 million and needs nothing. So what on earth do you get him?

This week, Bill Gates shared on Reddit that he had just received his gift from Reddit Secret Santa. He’d wanted his Secret Santa to give to a cause that matters to them. Gates’ Santa match did just that, and donated to the International Rescue Committee in Bill Gates’ name. According to the organization’s website, it provides care to “people fleeing conflict and natural disaster.”

“I love to learn (I often come to Reddit just to discover new things). I know I’m lucky, because I’ve always had access to the tools I need,” Gates writes in his post about the gift on Reddit. “I’ve never had to learn in an under-resourced setting like a refugee camp. That’s why my Secret Santa’s gift means so much to me: she’s helping a young girl continue to learn in a refugee camp through International Rescue Committee,” he writes. “Thank you for your generosity in donating a year of school on my behalf. Happy holidays!”

Gates did not say the amount of the Secret Santa’s donation, but IRC’s website reveals, “school fees, books and other supplies a child needs to attend school for a year,” can be provided for $58.