Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates believes he would have been diagnosed as autistic if he were a child today. Gates made the revelation in an interview to promote his forthcoming book, Source Code: My Beginnings.
In a video interview with the Wall Street Journal released on Friday, Gates commented on how the understanding of autism has changed, alleging that autism “is a fairly new thing” and used to have “a fairly narrow definition.”
He then reflected on certain of his own behaviors associated and how he believes they are associated with the autism spectrum, such as being “slow socializing” and a “behavior where I rock that bothers people,” known as “self-stimming” in autism literature, according to the Child Mind Institute.
However, Gates credits his autistic tendencies for his “deep concentration that got applied to math and science, and eventually...programming,” which became “a strength.”
When asked if his parents worried about him as a child, Gates responded, “They worried about if I would fit in.” Gates' parents responded to their concerns about their son by sending him to a therapist and a “really great school” where he met Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, according to Gates.
Out next month, Source Code will further delve into Gate’s humble beginning, “his struggles to fit in and his discovery of a world of coding and computers in the dawn of a new era,” according to press details from publisher Penguin Random House. They added that the book is “not about Microsoft or the Gates Foundation” but Gates’ character.
On the subject of character, Gates discussed his the “long” and “intriguing” dinner he had with President Donald Trump. According to Gates, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not in attendance, and Gates said he had not seen Musk in about 18 months.
“We touched on a lot of things,” said Gates.
Gates said he was hopeful after President Trump indicated that he wants to “maximize” the possibility that polio will be eradicated during his second term in office. Gate said he was also impressed with Trump’s interest in global health more generally during the dinner, reported the New York Post.
When asked about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.‘s role in the Trump administration, Gates blasted RFK Jr. for writing “a book saying that Tony Fauci and I killed millions of children and make billions of dollars with vaccines. People can judge for themselves whether that’s correct.”
Commenting on his $50 million donation to Kamala Harris' campaign and his non-endorsement of her, he said he wants the Gates Foundation to cooperate with all presidential administrations to address global challenges.
