The Margin: Oscars 2023: What’s inside the $126,000 gift bags?

So Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, Steven Spielberg and the nominees for the top acting and directing categories at the 95th Academy Awards airing on Sunday are being offered an embarrassment of riches that add up to more than $126,000 per bag. 

Related: Oscars 2023: When is it? Where can you watch it? And why is it called an ‘Oscar’?

Each year, Fary’s unofficial Oscars “gift bag”—which, to be clear, isn’t affiliated with the Academy Awards and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—can be considered a time capsule for Tinseltown. The latest haul includes plenty of self-care products for these trying times, for example, and Fary is already working on getting EVs included among next year’s spoils.

Fary recently dished to MarketWatch about how he selects the brands and experiences, his favorite gift out of all of this year’s loot, as well as why the tax bill for accepting these six-figure gifts might not be quite as bad as everything thinks. 

First off, who is getting this year’s gift bag? Is it all the nominees and presenters?

What’s cool about doing this individually and having no affiliation with the Academy is that I get to decide who gets it. And I only give it to the top five categories: The nominees for best actor and best actress, best supporting actor and best supporting actress, best director, and then we always give one to the host or hosts of the show; this year it’s Jimmy Kimmel. So 27 people total are getting gift bags this year, since “Everything, Everywhere All at Once” has two directors. And it came in at just over $126,000 per bag this year. 

Related: Red-carpet coverage at the Oscars this year will instead take place on a champagne-colored runner

So does it work? Do they pick these up at the Oscars, or is everything sent to them? 

No, it’s delivered to their homes if they live here — like, Angela Bassett, who I have a relationship with, that’s going literally to the doorstep of her house. If the nominees are just visiting in town, it will go to their hotels. I’m in contact with their assistants, who tell us where to drop everything off. I try, for cost purposes, not to ship them. But last year, Olivia Coleman asked us to ship hers to her outside of London — and I’m not going to say “no” to Olivia Coleman! Or once, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem wanted theirs sent to them in Madrid, and I’m not going to say “no” to Javier Bardem, either. 

This sounds like a lot of work — why do you do it? 

Well first, I get paid by all the brands to do it. [Laughs.] These are all things donated by the brands. They’re hoping celebrities use their products and get photographed using their products, or that celebrities use the vacation vouchers and show up at their resorts. They’re buying a lottery ticket. 

Viola Davis has shared photos from her free trips on Instagram, and thanked the resorts for a lovely time. Or, Ron Howard once took a gifted trip to Connecticut [Winvian Farm], and he loved the place so much that, three years later, he hosted his son’s wedding reception there. Or Amy Adams was photographed at the gym (in 2013) wearing this T-shirt that was in the gift bag one year that said, “Strong Is The New Skinny,” which then sold out. So these brands are paying me for access. It’s almost like they’re hiring a celebrity as a spokesperson.

Related: 2023 Oscars: Pedro Pascal, Cara Delevingne and others who are presenting awards

I always get these questions and Instagram messages like, “Instead of buying $126,000 gifts for rich people, you should donate it to charity.” But I don’t buy anything! I get paid. And then I’m getting a delivery van and making deliveries all [Oscar] week. It is hard work. 

Does anyone ever turn the swag down or send it back? 

I’ve never had anyone send them back, but typically one person a year says “No.” So far no one this year has declined, though. Sometimes someone freaks out about the potential taxes on it. 

[Editors note: The Oscars stopped giving away official gift bags in 2006 after the IRS started cracking down on taxing the swag. So the Academy scrapped the gifts because it seemed inappropriate to give things that carried with a huge tax burden.] 

So, what about the tax bill? 

To be honest, there’s only about $5,000 worth of actual products in the bag. The vast majority of these things are invitations and offers that literally have no monetary value if they aren’t used. Otherwise, they’re only worth the paper that they’re printed on. So for example, the $40,000 trip to the lifestyle estate in Canada. If they don’t take that trip, then there’s no taxation on that. The same thing with the $12,000 worth of body sculpting and liposuction, or the $20,000 for aesthetic treatments like Botox and fillers. They would have to be used.

How do you decide which products or experiences to include? 

I’m not in a position where I have to accept everything that comes my way. And I definitely don’t just include anything. I pick stuff I like. It’s stuff I would give as a gift to Angela Bassett as a friend, even if she wasn’t an Oscar nominee. So for example, this year we’ve got this incredible fragrance from Benigna Parfums ($395) that comes in a bottle that looks like it came from a royal gallery, which is perfect for her, because she’s a queen on-screen and off. And some of these are things I use in my regular life. All of the skin care products we include are skin care products that, if you were to teleport to my bathroom right now and open my cabinet, you would see all of these products in my cabinet. 

What’s your absolute favorite product in this year’s gift bag? 

There’s a few. There’s a box of gourmet dates from Dubai (Bateel, $435) that come in a box that looks like a work of art. They’re doing for dates what Godiva did for chocolate. I want to give these dates to everyone for the rest of the year. 

Another one of my favorites—again, because it has personal resonance—is something for the guys. It’s an L.L. Bean tote bag stuffed with products from Baumen Medical (worth about $7,000). I have struggled with hair loss since college, and I’ve tried everything. Well, Baumen Medical has treatments, and included in this year’s “gift bag” is an invitation to go into his office and have a treatment, but there’s also skin and shower products, supplements, everything you need to help keep the hair you have.

What’s especially timely or on-trend about this year’s bag? 

Well one trend is the mental health space. I do feel that over the past couple of years, specifically, mental health is a topic people feel more comfortable talking about than ever before, due in part to Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka. We’ve got a bunch of mental health support tools. Some are old school, like the Human Being Journal (Mahara Mindfulness, $48) in a beautiful brown vegan leather case. Or there’s a brand-new product called Reflect ($229), which is an app-connected orb that uses lights to help you focus and help you reduce anxiety. 

Another trend is that over half of the products are from small businesses and Black-owned businesses. It makes me happy to be able to shine a light on these. 

As kind of the “Oprah of the Oscars,” what do you still dream of giving? 

One thing I’ve never given out…I want to do what Oprah did. I want to say, “You get a car! And you get car! And you get a car!” I’m actually working on it, and I’m hoping by next year I’ll do it. I’m talking to an EV car company, is all I’ll say, and we were pretty close to doing it this year. So, giving someone a car, I’m working on that for next year. 

And here’s a look at some highlights from this year’s unofficial Oscar gift bag.

Bateel dates, $435: A curated gift set of gourmet, hand-harvested dates from Bateel’s organic farm in a historic Arabian oasis. Presented in an artisanally crafted wooden box.

The Lifestyle stay, $40,000: The voucher holder is invited to spend three-nights at The Lifestyle, an ultramodern, 10-acre estate in rural Ottawa, Canada.

Havaianas flip flops, $50: Comfort, lightness and a touch of the Brazilian spirit.

Art Lipo Plastic Surgery, $12,000: “Celebrity Arms Sculpting” is a revolutionary plastic surgery procedure that gives women an instant lean and toned look with 360-degree definition of their arms.

Baumen Medical, $7,000: The “Slap the $#%& Out of Alopecia Gift Set by Bauman Medical Hair Transplant & Hair Loss Treatment Center” is an array of hair restoration tools to combat hair loss and grow hair thicker, stronger and healthier using BaumanMD hair supplements.

Faro Punta Imperatore, $9,000: Three nights for the nominee and up to seven friends in the newly-renovated lighthouse in Ischia, Italy. A gate and a long natural staircase path separate the hideaway from the rest of the island and the world. Breakfast is included and romantic dinners can be arranged in the lighthouse restaurant Luci.

Benigna Parfums, $395: A luxury fragrance brand that produces gender-neutral fragrances with a purpose to inspire joy, harmony and appeal to those who want a luxurious sensory experience and to feel elegant.

Frontera Wines, $20: The top Chilean wine brand in the U.S., offering wine and music for every occasion.

Opopop popcorn, $45: Each kernel is individually pre-wrapped in flavor. You simply pick a flavor, ranging from Fancy Butter to unique creations like Maui Heat, then pour it into the included Opopop microwave popper and pop yourself a treat.

Pieces of Australia, $425: Become an Aussie Mate today with your own plot of land. Own or gift a Piece of Australia and contribute to conservation and reforestation efforts around Australia with our unique gift packs.