Bill Gates used the RedditGifts username “thisisbillgates” while participating in the gift-exchange service.
Gates, the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist, took part in RedditGifts Secret Santa exchanges for five years under that username. His participation became famous because the exchange paired an internationally known billionaire with ordinary Reddit users in a system built around anonymous or semi-anonymous gift giving.
RedditGifts matched participants with recipients based on profiles describing their interests, with users generally expected to send a thoughtful present rather than an expensive one. Gates’ involvement brought unusual publicity to the service, especially when recipients shared details of gifts associated with him. The account name was not a hidden reference to another Microsoft executive; it directly identified the person behind the profile.
RedditGifts began in 2009, was acquired by Reddit in 2011, and eventually became one of Reddit’s best-known community projects. The service’s final Secret Santa exchange took place in 2021 before the site shut down in January 2022. Gates’ participation is therefore both a celebrity anecdote and part of RedditGifts’ wider history.