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Bill Gates shares he was the ‘class clown’ on being asked if he was ‘always a nerd’

In addition to revealing that he was a “class clown”, Bill Gates also talked about his first code and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen on Instagram.

Updated on: Feb 14, 2025, 11:56:36 IST
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Bill Gates has been promoting his book Source Code on various platforms, including a virtual question-and-answer session with Instagram users, where he invited people to ask questions about his memoir. He later shared his answers to some of the queries. While replying to one individual who asked if he was a nerd, the billionaire came up with an interesting answer. He revealed that at school, he was more of a “class clown.”

Billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates wrote his first memoir, Source Code. (AP)
Billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates wrote his first memoir, Source Code. (AP)

“Were you always a nerd?” a person asked Bill Gates. Sharing the question, the co-founder of Microsoft answered, “I was actually the class clown for a long time. But there were two experiences that helped me realize I wanted to be more than that.” He then went on to share the moments that changed his thinking and his outlook towards his life.

Also Read: Bill Gates reveals rival Steve Jobs' eccentric advice to improve Microsoft: ‘He wished I’d take drugs’

“First, I started getting paired up for class projects with the other kids in class who got bad grades-and I thought, ‘Holy sh*t, they actually think I'm stupid.’ Second, I became best friends with a guy named Kent Evans, who got great grades and dreamed big and made me want to do the same,” the tech mogul added.

Bill Gates' Instagram Story.

What else did the fans ask?

Answering, Bill Gates wrote, “Paul was a couple of years older than me, cooler than me, and one of the only kids in high school with a full beard. We met at the computer lab after our school got a teletype machine-I'm pretty sure ‘Bill, you think you're so smart, you figure this thing out,’ was the first thing my future business partner ever said to me.”

He also talked about the first code he learned as a kid and if he ever got in trouble with his parents for sneaking out at night to code.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trisha Sengupta

Trisha Sengupta is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of digital newsroom experience. Specialising in high-engagement storytelling, she blends viral trends with traditional journalism to cover the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. Her reporting spans real estate and personal finance struggles in hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the NRI experience, and corporate shifts like tech layoffs. Trisha also frequently tracks global figures and writes human interest stories. Offline, Trisha is an avid reader, history enthusiast and solo traveler. She balances her journalism career with family life while actively integrating AI tools into her modern storytelling approach.

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