- In an upcoming memoir from Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, the tech billionaire recalls his childhood and the support he received from his parents, who “struggled with their complicated son” but helped nurture his uniqueness.
Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist Bill Gates suggested he may be neurodivergent and speculated that he likely would’ve been diagnosed that way as a kid.
In his upcoming memoir, Source Code: My Beginnings, an excerpt of which was published in the Wall Street Journal, the tech billionaire recalled his childhood in Washington State and the support he received from his parents, who “struggled with their complicated son.”
“If I were growing up today, I probably would be diagnosed on the autism spectrum. During my childhood, the fact that some people’s brains process information differently from others wasn’t widely understood,” Gates wrote, noting that the term “neurodivergent” would be coined in the 1990s.
“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 added that his parents—Bill and Mary Gates—offered a mix of support and pressure, allowing him to grow emotionally while also nudging him to engage with others by having him play on a baseball team and join the Cub Scouts. In addition, exposing him to their adult friends and colleagues “fed my curiosity about the world beyond school.”
Still, Gates acknowledged that his social side developed slowly, but it eventually matured as he got older, gained more experience, and had kids.
While his success as a tech entrepreneur is now legendary, he attributed much of it to luck. For example, Gates said, the biggest part of his good fortune was being born to his parents.
He also benefited from favorable timing, as his childhood and formative years coincided with the computer revolution. And then there’s the “unearned privilege” he enjoyed.
“To be born in the rich U.S. is a big part of a winning birth-lottery ticket, as is being born white and male in a society that advantages white men,” Gates wrote.
That echoes Warren Buffett’s letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in November, when the investing icon mused on his luck, saying his male status gave him confidence that he could become rich.
“As I write this, I continue my lucky streak that began in 1930 with my birth in the United States as a white male,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, other business leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, have credited much of their career success to neurodivergence.
In 2021, while hosting Saturday Night Live, Musk said he has Asperger’s syndrome.
“I don’t always have a lot of intonation or variation in how I speak … which I’m told makes for great comedy,” he joked in his opening monologue. “I’m actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger’s to host SNL.”
Read more:
- The rise of the neurodivergent-friendly office: How a once-niche workplace idea is catching on in corporate America
- Neurodivergent women face unique barriers to leadership. Here’s how employers can support them
- Neurodivergence is a career maker for men like Elon Musk and Kanye West. Women aren’t afforded the same privilege