My Secret Santa was Bill Gates, Reddit user 'Rachel' gets stuffed cow, donation to Heifer International

ONE Reddit user got a shock when she found out the "Bill" that was assigned to her via the website's Secret Santa was actually Bill Gates.

ONE Reddit user got a shock when she found out the "Bill" that was assigned to her via the website's Secret Santa was actually Bill Gates.

"I thought Bill sounded like a friendly fellow," Rachel said on Reddit. "In fact, I had this whole image of this poor guy named Bill trying to navigate my wishlist full of makeup, nailpolish, glittery things to buy me. Quite frankly I felt bad for this ‘Bill’…"

Bill Gates gave her a stuffed cow along with a donation to the non-profit Heifer International and the travel book Journeys of a Lifetime.

"The first thing I noticed was a stuffed animal. I didn’t know I gave off the stuffed animal vibe, but I excitedly added him to my collection of teddy bears and other delightful friendly creatures. Next, I found the card. To me, from Bill. This still had not clicked, by the way, that it was Bill Gates."

That was until she noticed the photo of Gates in front of a Christmas tree with the book, cow, and note.

"Wait. Holy sh*t. Time out ... and then it finally hit me. All the presents I just tore open, the charity, then everything - was from Bill GATES," Rachel wrote. "I quickly went back to the book to see a really nice message and note from Bill wishing me a Merry Christmas and a Happy Birthday (not pictured, because I really want to keep one part of this gift to myself) my jaw hit the EVER LOVING FLOOR. I went back to all the other gifts completely shocked."

Rachel realised she had committed something of a faux pas on her Christmas list that was sent to the Microsoft billionaire.

"ps: Sorry for the Apple ipad on my wishlist, that was really awkward," she wrote.

Rachel said the gift given from Gates was "the gift perfect for anyone" and said she was "sincerely very appreciative that you took the time to find something so fitting for me."

She said she was unsure how much Gates had donated to Heifer International but said "I can only imagine it was quite a bit."

Rachel said she did some research into Heifer International to understand the work that they do.

"The cause seemed really worthy and amazing, and it is the season of giving. By the way, the charity 'gives families in need the right tools- such as animals, seeds, clean water, safe stoves or a chance for girls to go to school.' The last part was/is my favourite, since my master’s degree is in education and I am SO into educational benefits for all."

"It makes me so happy that he was able to donate to a charity on my behalf that helped people with both needs and educational benefits. Nailed it, Bill!” she said.

A spokesman for Gates told GeekWire that Gates hoped participating in the Secret Santa would bring attention to Heifer International.