Bill Gates' daughter reveals what it’s like to bring men home to meet father: ‘…terrifying’

Phoebe Gates, the 22-year-old daughter of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, recently shared that her father has Asperger’s syndrome - a condition where a person may have trouble with social interactions and communication. During an appearance on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, she opened up about the experience of what it’s like to bring men home to her father.. “For the guy, terrifying. For me, it’s hilarious because my dad’s pretty socially awkward. Like he’s said before, he has Asperger’s. So, like to me, it’s so funny,” she said.

Although the 69-year-old billionaire has never publicly confirmed having Asperger’s syndrome, he has previously stated that he likely has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to the New York Post.

“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. 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 wrote in his 2025 memoir, “Source Code.”

He explained that by the time formal testing for autism spectrum disorders was introduced in the 1980s, he was already an adult, and the term "neurodivergent" wouldn’t be coined until the 1990s. Despite this, he mentioned that he had always known his brain functioned differently.

“I always knew I was different in ways that confused people in terms of my energy level and intensity, and going off and just studying things. And it’s a little confusing when you’re a kid, that you’re different, or people react to you in some ways, or your social skills — you’re miscuing on various things," he said.

He disclosed that he first became aware he might be neurodivergent when someone asked him if he was "on the spectrum."

"It was like 25 years ago. I remember thinking, ‘What the hell? What the hell? I run a goddamn company.’ And then I realised, well, actually, it’s probably true. I mean, the spectrum thing is confusing," he said.