Tech billionaire Bill Gates admits he would be diagnosed with autism if growing up today

In an excerpt from his memoir "Source Code: My Beginnings," released on Feb. 4 and shared by The Wall Street Journal, the Microsoft co-founder, 69, wrote: "If I were growing up today, I probably would be diagnosed on the autism spectrum."

"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 or inappropriate without seeming to notice his effect on others."

Gates, whose net worth stood at $107.5 billion as of April 14, noted that the concept of neurodiversity was not widely understood during his youth, with the term only gaining prominence in the 1990s.

His social awareness, he said, has "come with age, with experience, with children," adding, "I am better for it."

Tech billionaire Bill Gates. Photo courtesy of Gates' Instagram

Despite the challenges he faced, Gates said he "wouldn't change" his brain "for anything." In an interview with The Times, he explained: "If they ever invent a pill where they could say, 'OK, your social skills will be normal but your ability to concentrate would also be normal,' I wouldn't take the pill," adding that it was this unique cognitive wiring that allowed him to write his first code as a teenager, laying the groundwork for Microsoft’s early success.

Several prominent figures have spoken openly about their neurodiversity, including fellow billionaire Elon Musk, who revealed in 2021 that he had Asperger syndrome, a condition now recognized as part of the broader autism spectrum.