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It doesn’t matter how rich you are, it’s always great to get free stuff – and the stars nominated for Oscars this month are about to take delivery of some extraordinarily lavish freebies.

The gift bag going to nominees at the Feb. 26 Academy Awards contains goodies worth a record total of $200,000.

Among the treats inside are vouchers for five luxury vacations at leading international hotels, private use of a California mansion, fitness training sessions, a 10-year supply of oxygenating makeup products and some top of the range diet pills. There are also more down to earth items like a year’s supply of apples, coloring crayons and a $4 chap stick.

The most bizarre item included is an instruction kit on how to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, which could come in useful as the blood pressure surges around awards season.

It might be argued that wealthy nominees like Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Meryl Streep already have everything money can buy and are the last people in need of free stuff  – but that’s besides the point. Those companies donating these high-end gifts do so for the priceless publicity boost which comes from the star being photographed enjoying their product or talking about it in interviews.

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The gift bags are put together by Los Angeles-based marketing company Distinctive Assets, which assembles similar goodie bags for the Emmys, Tonys and MTV Movie Awards. The company’s founder, Lash Fary, said in a statement, “We always look forward to introducing standout entertainers to an array of companies with fabulous gifts to share.”

The “Everyone Wins” 2017 Oscar nominee bags will be delivered the day after the Oscars to the home or office of all 20 of the acting nominees, all five best director nominees and an extra one to the ceremony’s host, Jimmy Kimmel. So even for those who fail to take home an Academy Award, there’s a great consolation prize coming their way.  While for the winners, it’s something else to celebrate.

As Queen Latifah once said, “I don’t care how much money you have, free stuff is always a good thing.”

The only celebrity ever to turn down a free bag, during Distinctive Assets’ 14 years in the gifting business, was “Grey’s Anatomy” actress Sandra Oh.

Distinctive Assets is not affiliated with Oscars organziers the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which stopped giving out its own lavish gift bags in 2006 after the Internal Revenue Service decided the value of the merchandise being given away should count as income and therefore the bags would come with a tax obligation going forward.

Celebrities receiving the Distinctive Assets bags can avoid any tax obligation if they decide to donate the contents of the bags to charity.

The 89th Academy Awards will be televised live on ABC from Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb, 26 at 5.30pm Pacific Time.

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