
Bill Gates has nothing left to prove. Founder of Microsoft, billionaire, and philanthropist, he now shares the secrets of his past. In Code Source. My Beginnings, the first volume of an autobiographical trilogy, he reveals little-known aspects of his youth. Drugs, social difficulties, romantic relationships, and future ambitions: these confessions are surprising.
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A Teenage Years Marked by Isolation and Drugs
In 1972, Bill Gates was only 17 years old and trying to impress Vicki Wells, a high school classmate. To seem cooler, he experimented with drugs. He admits to having smoked joints and taken LSD several times. “It was exhilarating,” he recalls. Yet, despite these attempts, he never went to prom with her.
The substances remained a passing experience. Before he turned 21, he stopped everything. His true addiction then became computing. He spent entire nights coding and forgot everything else. In his book, he acknowledges that if he were born today, he would likely have been diagnosed as autistic.
“I’ve always struggled to understand the image I projected,” he confides to Le Point. In class, he wrote 200-page reports when his classmates stopped at ten. Some teachers wanted him to repeat a year, while others suggested he skip grades. He now estimates that at least one-third of Microsoft’s best programmers are, like him, on the autistic spectrum.

Relationships with Elon Musk and Donald Trump
In his memoirs, Bill Gates also discusses his complex relationship with Elon Musk. “I try to understand why Elon does everything he does, and honestly, I don’t know.” Sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile, Musk maintains an ambiguous relationship with him. They have exchanged views on philanthropy, but their visions differ. Gates regularly criticizes Tesla and its limited commitment to humanitarian efforts.
Since Donald Trump’s election, he has not seen Musk again. However, he confides that he would like to work with him. “He is incredibly intelligent, and we could accomplish great things together.”
Despite everything, Bill Gates knows he must maintain diplomatic relations with the Trump administration. His foundation needs allies to fund projects to fight AIDS and certain genetic diseases.
An Optimistic View on Artificial Intelligence
Bill Gates is also enthusiastic about artificial intelligence. According to him, fears about it are exaggerated. “If we understand how they work, they are not a threat.” He emphasizes one point: to adapt to the future, one must learn to read, write, count… and code.

A Philanthropic Legacy and a New Romantic Relationship
Now aged 69, Bill Gates is already preparing his legacy. In an interview on Sept à Huit on TF1, he announces that his three children will receive only a fraction of his fortune. “They will inherit generous sums, but it’s just a percentage.” The majority of his wealth, estimated at over 100 billion dollars, will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Created in 2000, it fights poverty and improves access to healthcare worldwide.

After his divorce from Melinda French Gates in 2021, Bill Gates found love again. He now shares his life with Paula Hurd, widow of Mark Hurd, former CEO of Oracle. Passionate about tennis, they have been seen together at several tournaments. Their relationship, initially friendly, has evolved over the years.
An Autobiography So Sincere and Intimate
With Code Source. My Beginnings, Bill Gates opens up like rarely before. He talks about his adolescence marked by loneliness, his first romantic experiences, and his ambitions for the future. At 70 years old, he continues to inspire and surprise. This first volume promises to be a success before the release of the next two volumes of the trilogy.