NEWS'Awkward' Bill Gates Has 'Asperger's Syndrome' After Years of Suspecting He Was on the Spectrum, Daughter Reveals
Bill Gates has reportedly been diagnosed with 'Asperger's Syndrome.'
Bill Gates' 22-year-old daughter, Phoebe Gates, confirmed on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast that her famous father has Asperger’s syndrome.
Phoebe Gates appeared on the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast.
During her appearance on Alex Cooper’s podcast, Phoebe recounted her sometimes uncomfortable experience of bringing dates home to the Microsoft co-founder.
“For the guy, terrifying. For me, it’s hilarious because my dad’s pretty socially awkward. Like he’s said before, he has Asperger’s. So, like to me, it’s so funny,” she shared, making it clear her father's quirks are just part of their family fabric.
Phoebe Gates confirmed her father's diagnosis.
Although the 69-year-old billionaire has never publicly confirmed his diagnosis, he did admit in his 2025 memoir, Source Code, that he had his suspicions.
"If I were growing up today, I probably would be diagnosed on the autism spectrum," the dad-of-three candidly revealed. "During my childhood, the fact that some people’s brains process information differently from others wasn’t widely understood," Bill explained, reflecting on his youth. "My parents had no guideposts or textbooks to help them grasp why their son became so obsessed with certain projects, missed social cues, and could be rude and inappropriate without seeming to notice his effect on others," he elaborated.
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Bill Gates suspected he was on the spectrum for years.
Despite the lack of a formal diagnosis during his formative years, Bill was acutely aware that his mind operated differently compared to his peers.
"I always knew I was different in ways that confused people in terms of my energy level and intensity, and going off and just studying things," he revealed in an Axios interview back in February.
"Somebody said to me, ‘Are you on the spectrum?’ It was like 25 years ago. I remember thinking, ‘What the h---? What the h---? I run a g------ company.’ And then I realized, well, actually, it’s probably true. I mean, the spectrum thing is confusing," the billionaire recalled.
Bill Gates shares three kids with his ex-wife, Melinda Gates.
Bill shares Phoebe with his ex-wife, Melinda, whom he was married to from 1994 to 2021. They also share daughter Jennifer, 29, and son Rory, 25.
As OK! previously reported, the billionaire and his ex-wife separated a whole year before they announced their divorce.
"It was important for me to be real," Melinda explained of why she detailed their split in her book The Next Day. "Hopefully, it might be helpful to someone else."
Though the tech guru admitted to cheating on his spouse, she didn't begin seriously thinking about a split until 2019, which was the year it was revealed that Bill had meetings with late s-- offender Jeffrey Epstein.
At the time, Bill admitted he was "stupid" to socialize with Epstein but said their talks were only about asking for charity donations.
