Microsoft staff says 'office bully' Bill Gates had 'sexual affairs' with employees, journalists
Four people who allegedly work with Microsoft have accused billionaire founder Bill Gates of being an office "bully." The employees also claimed that Gates 'pursued sexual affairs with employees and journalists.'
These employees revealed that Gates' catchphrase was "that's the stupidest f*****g idea I've ever heard." The unnamed Microsoft workers also added that Gates pursued sexual affairs with female workers and journalists. Gates's reputation as a hot-tempered boss started not long after he launched tech giant Microsoft with childhood buddy Paul Allen in 1975, Insider reported on Tuesday, June 29. A spokesperson for the billionaire has denied he mistreated employees. Gates came under scrutiny after he and his ex-wife Melinda Gates announced their divorce in May 2021, and several reports surfaced of his alleged extramarital affairs and concerns over the nature of his connection with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
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A former Microsoft official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Insider that "having a meeting with Bill was just an opportunity to get yelled at, so I tried to avoid that." Some other sources told Insider that Gates was known for swearing at his employees. The outlet has also claimed that Gates used to memorize their license plates in order to track them. Even though some employees blasted Gates in the interview, some defended Gates with one saying he 'yelled at everyone the same' and that she liked his candor but admitted that his management style could intimidate some employees.
"He doesn't know how to joke really or how to connect with people," said another former executive, who described solo meetings with Gates as awkward. "If he told you he liked your hair, he wasn't trying to flirt with you. He just actually liked your hair." A current Microsoft employee told Insider: "He's just an awkward human being as far as social interactions go."
Maria Klawe, who worked with Microsoft from 2009 to 2015, and was a board member stated that "a person like Bill Gates thinks the usual rules of behavior don't apply to him" and accused him of being unreceptive to ideas about improving diversity. Klawe claimed that Gates acted as if he was the "smartest person in the room" and that diversity was not something Gates "was interested in hearing about."
She further added that when female officials would recommend diversity initiatives, Gates would allegedly respond with: "Are you trying to effing destroy the company?" Gates's spokesperson told Insider that Klawe's allegations are a "gross mischaracterization."
Gates herself was an employee at Microsoft, who was hired as a product manager back in 1987, when the billionaire first asked her out months after flirting with her at a conference dinner.
Reports suggest that in 2006, Gates allegedly asked a female Microsoft employee out for a dinner date in an email after attending a presentation she had given. "If this makes you uncomfortable, pretend it never happened," Gates wrote in the email obtained by The New York Times. A Gates Foundation employee added that the billionaire asked her on a date while they were at a cocktail party in New York. "I want to see you. Will you have dinner with me?" Gates allegedly told the woman.
In a 1992 biography 'Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire', writer James Wallace said that Gates had an alleged affair with a married woman who was 13 years older to him when he was 27 years old. Gates' alleged affair was with the wife of an Osborne Computer executive who lived abroad, according to the biography. An Osborne Computer official who knew about the alleged affair told Wallace that "Bill had a real fondness for older women then."
Gates himself told BBC that he would hack his school's scheduling software to ensure he would be the only boy in class. "I was the one who benefited by being able to have the nice girls at least sit near me. It wasn't that I could talk to them or anything, but they were there," Gates said.