Tech billionaire Bill Gates' youngest daughter Phoebe says she makes her ‘socially awkward’ dad interact with others

In an episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast with host Alex Cooper, Phoebe described her father as "pretty socially awkward" and said he has Asperger’s syndrome, a now-retired term once used for some on the autism spectrum. Though Bill, 69, has not publicly confirmed the diagnosis, he wrote in his memoir that he "probably would be diagnosed on the autism spectrum" if growing up today.

Phoebe, 22, who has always been extroverted, made it her mission to draw her father out of his shell, whether he liked it or not. At father-daughter dances, she would urge him to mingle with other dads. "I was like, ‘No, if we’re here, we’re going to socialize. We gotta work this room, Bill,’" she said. Though the Microsoft co-founder sometimes felt nervous and would leave, Phoebe insisted. The family jokes that life "would be so boring" if Phoebe hadn’t been born.

Bill Gates and daughter Phoebe. Photo courtesy of Bill's Instagram

Bill may not be the most natural at interacting with people, but when it comes to games, he has an intense competitive spirit, making family game nights particularly heated. "You do not want to play a board game with the two of us," Phoebe said, adding that it’s "actually worse than introducing a guy to my dad."

Even when doing a puzzle with Phoebe’s boyfriend, Bill remained ruthless, as reported by Business Insider. Phoebe described it as "really nerve-wracking" when her father would take puzzle pieces from her date’s hands to fit them together himself.

Phoebe, 22, graduated early from Stanford University and is the youngest child of Bill and Melinda French Gates, who divorced in 2021 after nearly three decades of marriage. On April 24, she launched Phia, an AI-powered price comparison shopping app, alongside her Stanford roommate and environmental activist Sophia Kianni, 23.