Bill Gates’ Secret Medical Crisis: Billionaire’s Daughter Phoebe Lets Slip Her Dad’s Private Diagnosis on ‘Call Her Daddy’ Tell-All Podcast
Phoebe Gates slipped up and said her father Bill Gates 'has Asperger's' in a podcast interview.
May 2 2025, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
Bill Gates' daughter Phoebe accidentally revealed a secret health condition the Microsoft co-founder has been battling, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Phoebe, 22, appeared to slip up when discussing her billionaire dad's "awkwardness" during an appearance on Alex Cooper's hit Call Her Daddy podcast.
Phoebe discussed what it was like growing up with the Microsoft co-founder on the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast.
While chatting about what it was like growing up with Gates, including bringing home boyfriends, the 22-year-old said her father meeting guys she's dating has been "hilarious" because he's "socially awkward."
Then, she made the shocking admission that her father has Asperger's syndrome, which he nor any member of the Gates family has ever disclosed publicly.
She told Cooper: "My dad is pretty socially awkward. He's said he, you know, has Asperger's."
Phoebe said her dad is 'socially awkward' because he 'has Asperger’s.'
Asperger's syndrome is a medical diagnosis that was retired by healthcare providers in 2013, though it was once used to "describe a brain difference that affects social interactions and certain behaviors," according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The Cleveland Clinic noted: "Today, people with the features of Asperger's receive a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)."
Although the billionaire has previously said he identifies with some traits on the Autism spectrum, he has never discussed a formal diagnosis.
In his 2023 memoir Source Code, Gates admitted if he were a child today, he likely would have been diagnosed on the Autism spectrum.
He wrote: "I probably would've been diagnosed today, and that's not a bad thing — it's part of who I am. I was a hyper-focused kid. I would get so lost in what I was doing, I’d forget to eat."
Since his memoir was released, Gates has opened up more about his childhood and potential signs of being neurodivergent.
Gates said in his 2023 memoir he 'probably would've been diagnosed today.'
During an interview with Axios in February, the tech mogul said: "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.
"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."
Listeners were quick to pick up on Phoebe's apparent slip-up and took to social media to share their thoughts on Gates' alleged diagnosis.
One X user said the admission was "not exactly surprising," as another claimed, "Well this explains A LOT."
Another added: "Being high in trait disagreeableness, focused, highly intelligent does not necessarily mean one is 'on the spectrum.'"
A fourth chimed in: "There seems to be a lot of self-diagnosing going on here."
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Gates has not confirmed any Autism or Asperger's diagnosis publicly.
Phoebe further explained about her "socially awkward" father "terrified" her boyfriends.
She said: "Bringing a guy home is terrifying for the guy. It's also kind of hilarious for me."
The Stanford graduate then recalled a moment Gates once drove her and a date to a school date in brutal silence while listening to NPR, adding: "So uncomfortable but so funny."
