Feast Your Eyes On The Contents Of The Oscars $140,000 Goodie Bags
$12,000 worth of liposuction is one of the perks.
While the Oscars may feel like a distant memory after this absolutely chaotic week, they only happened on Monday and since then, one thing has lived rent-free in my silly, little brain — the gift bag.
For the 20th year in a row, the event’s gift bags were handled by Distinctive Assets — an LA-based marketing company most well known for making the world’s most expensive gift bags for people that are rich enough to not even need them.
This year’s bag is valued at a whopping $137,000USD, which is approximately $182,865 plus GST, for everyone playing along at home. Considering most of the actors nominated for an Oscar probably made more than that for their role in one individual film, the figure isn’t all that surprising, but it sure does make you wonder what exactly is included for the price.
Who Actually Gets The Bags?
Unlike other events like the Grammys, not every attendee of the Oscars will go home with the famed ‘Everybody Wins’ goodie bag. Only 28 people received the bag this year:
- 5x nominees for Best Actress
- 5x nominees for Best Actor
- 5x nominees for Best Supporting Actress
- 5x nominees for Best Supporting Actor
- 5x nominees for Best Director
- 3x hosts (Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall)
Due to the smaller number of recipients — and their massive star power — the Oscars gift bags are filled with uber-expensive stuff because, well, marketing!
What Do You Actually Get?
According to CNBC there are 53 items in this year’s goodie bag, with the most expensive item being a $50,000 three-night-stay at Scotland’s Turin Castle — inspired by The Tragedy of Macbeth, which Denzel Washington copped his Best Actor nomination for.
For $50,000, you receive three nights of accomodation, complete with a butler service and bagpiper — as well as full access to the castle.
The other 52 items include:
- A $12,000 “Celebrity Arms” liposuction treatment from Dr Thomas Su.
- Up to $10,000 worth of “treatments and rejuvenation procedures” from Dr Konstantin Vasyukevich.
- $25,000 worth of home renovations from Maison Construction, as if your mansion isn’t already nice enough.
- A $15,000 four-night stay for two at the Golden Door luxury resort and spa in California, as if the $50,000 trip wasn’t enough.
- A $1,200 life coaching session from Kayote Joseph.
- Gourmet popcorn.
- The title of “Lord” or “Lady of Glencoe” and a small plot of land in Scotland — in a very Scott Disick KUWTK move.
Additionally, the bag is choc-a-bloc full with alcohol, expensive skincare, toys for their kids, treats, books and other items that most of us could never dream of affording.
It’s Not Technically Free, Though
The only kicker — which probably means nothing to the people getting the bags, but would be devastating to a regular person like you or me — is that the bags count as taxable income.
Sure, this means you can cop a $50,000 trip to Scotland and only pay a smidge more tax on it, but it is worth taking into consideration before accepting.
According to the IRS, the person receiving the bag must report the value of the goods as part of their federal income tax.
Thankfully, it can be assumed that those receiving the Oscars bags are probably already in the highest tax bracket so this wouldn’t make much of a difference for them. But if you were a regular person earning sub-$100,000 per year, this could bump you into a whole new tax bracket and actually cost you more than you’d like.
Photo Credit: Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times/Getty Images