Bill Gates remains one of the world’s wealthiest and most well-known figures.
Yet, there are still things about the 69-year-old billionaire philanthropist that we don’t know.
Now, his daughter Phoebe has disclosed that her father is living with a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Hilarious and awkward story
In a surprising moment on the hit podcast Call Her Daddy hosted by Alex Cooper, Phoebe Gates, 22, casually opened up about her famous father, Bill Gates. While chatting about her life, the Stanford student accidentally revealed that her dad has a neurodevelopmental disorder.
”My dad is pretty socially awkward. He’s said he, you know, has Asperger’s,” she shared in passing during her appearance on the podcast Wednesday.
The comment immediately sparked attention, especially since Bill Gates has never publicly confirmed such a diagnosis. While he has previously acknowledged identifying with traits on the autism spectrum, this was the first time a family member directly mentioned a specific condition.
Phoebe also shared a hilarious and awkward story about her dad, saying, ”Bringing a guy home is terrifying for the guy. It’s also kind of hilarious for me.” She recounted how Bill once drove her and her boyfriend to a school dance, the car filled with the quiet hum of NPR radio — describing the moment as ”so uncomfortable but so funny.”
”I remember not really liking it..”
In the closing pages of his new book Source Code, published in 2025, Bill Gates openly acknowledged something that many have long speculated: if he were growing up today, he would likely be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Gates credited his mother for encouraging him to develop his social skills and engage with adults. ”I remember not really liking it, but that was what she wanted me to do,” he recalled, according to Axios.
”I was lucky I wasn’t pushed to the side in any way,” Gates shared. ”I definitely think my parents, maybe somewhat unintentionally, because there was no diagnosis, but the way they would explain things to me or push me to socialize was very helpful.”
The 69-year-old billionaire philanthropist has not publicly responded to the revelation, and it remains to be seen how he will address his daughter’s disclosure.
Listeners were quick to pick up on Phoebe Gates’ casual remark, and it didn’t take long for the clip to explode across social media, fueling speculation about whether she had accidentally shared something her father had chosen to keep private.
“Not exactly surprising,” one user commented on X.
“There seems to be a lot of self diagnosing going on here. Being high in trait disagreeableness, focused, highly intelligent does not necessarily mean one is ‘on the spectrum,’” another user added, questioning the assumption behind the revelation.
”It’s probably true..”
Gates has admitted that he wasn’t thrilled when the topic of autism was first brought up. ”I remember the first time somebody said to me, ‘Are you on the spectrum?’” Gates said. ”It was like 25 years ago, I remember thinking, ‘What the hell? What the hell? I run a goddamn company.’ (Laughter.) And then I realized, well, actually, it’s probably true. I mean, the spectrum thing is confusing.”
The primary difference between autism and Asperger’s syndrome lies in the severity and nature of the symptoms, but both are considered part of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
