Here's What's Inside The $178K Gift Bag For Oscar Nominees This Year

I'll take the $50,000 trip to Switzerland, please.

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As the Oscars ceremony inches up to us, it's time to look at one of the most lavish parts of the whole thing: the gift bags.

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Now, there is no such thing as an official Oscars gift bag. However, one of the most famous offered to some celebs is the "Everyone Wins" gift bag, which is given to all directing and acting nominees. So we spoke to Distinctive Assets — the company behind the gift bag — to see what's in store for this year's nominees.

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Let's start at the lower end of the spectrum. The cheapest item in the bag is a sampling of Poppi, the low-calorie, low-sugar prebiotic soda — coming in at $9.

Distinctive Assets

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In fact, 29 of the gifts are valued at less than $100. This includes a collector's edition Rubik's Cube, a Bagceit device (aka a seat for your bag, lest it touch a table), and $65 worth of "raw, dehydrated organic and non-GMO" pet food.

Distinctive Assets

Let's get into the middle tier. There's "the Sagar," a "vegetable forest sugar derived from maple water made in Quebec," valued at $1,000. There's also a private sound bath with a tuning fork, antioxidants, and a private sleep consultation.

Distinctive Assets

Things get very costly around the top. Cynosure offers a microneedling session for the nifty price of $10,000. There's also a private show by "mentalist to the stars" Carl Christman, which involves magic, mind reading, and hypnosis — valued at $25,000. There's also a $25,000 Maison Construction "complimentary project management on the nominee's next remodel or ground up project."

Distinctive Assets

The most expensive gift comes from Chalet Zermatt Peak. It's a three-night private stay at a Swiss ski chalet for the nominee and up to nine guests. The stay at this "architectural masterpiece" comes in at $50,000.

Distinctive Assets

If you're wondering what the total value of the gifts from 61 brands is, it comes out to a cool $178,410.29. Strictly speaking, it's less of a gift bag and more of a gift suitcase.

Distinctive Assets

As CNBC noted last year, "The IRS views the value gift bags as taxable income, meaning that the more trips and procedures a nominee decides to accept, the more they will pay come Tax Day. In the 21 years that [Lash] Fary has been gifting luxury vacations to Oscar nominees, no one has ever taken all of them."

BuzzFeed corresponded with Lash Fary, the founder of Distinctive Assets. In a statement, he said of the selection of items, "It is an intersection of our wanting to include the item and the brand being able to pay the participation fee. There is a great deal of work that goes into planning and executing this promotion, so yes, there is of course an admission fee (which starts at $4,000)."

Distinctive Assets

"We also endeavor to support small businesses, minority-owned brands, female entrepreneurs, and companies that give back," he continued. 

There are also some more charitable causes in the list. Lash further said, "Vegan dog food company V-dog is donating 10,000 meals to PETA’s Global Compassion Fund in the names of the respective Oscar nominees. And the Wallis Annenberg GenSpace, which is a thriving community center that promotes intergenerational connectedness, has provided a bento box filled with postcards that the nominees can share with an older adult who has positively impacted their life."

Distinctive Assets

Phew!

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