Bill Gates Makes Rare Comments About His Grandkids as He Says He's Trying to 'Be a Good Grandfather'

Bill Gates.Photo:Roy Rochlin/Getty Roy Rochlin/Getty Bill Gatesis settling into his newest title — grandfather. The Microsoft founder, 69, appeared onTodayto discuss his new memoir,Source Code: My Beginnings, and was asked whether his two grandkids — daughter Jennifer’s daughters Mia, 3 months, and Leila, 23 months — have inherited any of his skills. “You never want to push kids to do the same thing that you did,” Gates replied, prompting host Savannah Guthrie to add, “Especially when they’re 10 months old.

Bill Gates Opens Up About Deciding to 'Explicitly' Mention Autism in Memoir, and Why Only in the Epilogue (Exclusive)

Bill Gates.Photo:Ian Allen/Gates Notes Ian Allen/Gates Notes Asked inan interview with PEOPLEwhat the most personal and revealing moment of his memoir was,Bill Gatesdoesn’t hesitate. Speaking aboutSource Code,released this month, the Microsoft co-founder says it was “the question of whether to say explicitly that I probably would’ve beendiagnosed as on the spectrum” had he been growing up today. “It’s just being honest,” he says, explaining that it also made sense to him to include that at the very end of his book (which covers the early years of his life), because growing up “those words didn’t come up.

Bill Gates Opens Up About Going to Therapy as a Kid and the Time His Dad Threw Water on Him: 'At War with My Parents'

Bill Gates.Photo:Ian Allen/Gates Notes Ian Allen/Gates Notes As an adult,Bill Gatessays he looks back at his childhood and feels immense gratitude to his parents. Although he doesn’t recall what led to the disagreement, Gates admits that his “particularly mean” behavior" caused his “gentle” father, Bill Gates Sr., to empty “a glass of water in my face.” What happened next? Gates snapped: “Thanks for the shower.” Then he “slowly put down my fork, stood up, and walked downstairs to the room,” he writes.

Bill Gates Remembers Taking LSD as a Teen — and How It Didn't Wear Off by the Time He Went to the Dentist

Bill Gates high school, ca. 1971.Photo:Lakeside School Lakeside School In his debut memoirSource Code— which will be published on Tuesday, Feb. 4 — Bill Gates shares candid stories about his first experiences with alcohol and drugs, including LSD"It’s all Paul’s fault," Gates, 69, joked with PEOPLE in an interview, referring to his late friend, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen"Everything I did, I’m blaming it on him and Jimi Hendrix," he addedYears beforeBill Gatesbecame a billionaire tech tycoon and then philanthropist, he was just a teenage boy in Seattle — and like many teens, part of growing up meant experimenting with alcohol and even some drugs.

Bill Gates Says He Believes He Likely Would Be Diagnosed with Autism If He Were a Kid Today

Bill Gates at an event on September 26, 2024 in New York City.Photo:Roy Rochlin/Getty Roy Rochlin/Getty Bill Gatesbelieves he would likely have been diagnosed with autism if he were a kid today. In an interview withThe Wall Street Journalpublished on Friday, Jan. 24, ahead of the Feb. 4 release of his debut memoir,Source Code, Gates, 69, reflected on some of his childhood traits he believes would be diagnosed as autism today.