Bill Gates.Photo:Ian Allen/Gates Notes
Ian Allen/Gates Notes
When it comes to dating,Bill Gatesadmits he didn’t have the most success when he was in high school.In his new memoirSource Code— published earlier this month and covering his early life, before becoming a tech tycoon — the billionaire, 69, reflects on what happened when he finally worked up the courage to ask one of the most popular girls in the senior class to prom.Inan interview with PEOPLE, Gates says that even at the time, he knew asking out Vicki Weeks, a classmate he knew through drama class, was a bit of risk.He calls it a “very ambitious thing that I knew was a bit of a long shot – and something that I was very inept at doing.“But what happened when he finally got her on the phone? Well…“A few nights before the prom I screwed up the courage to call her,” Gates writes in his memoir. However, he kept on getting a busy signal.“I dialed over and over, and at one point added the challenge of dialing the phone with my foot,” he writes.When he finally was able to get her on the phone, he ended up telling her everything. Everything.“I told her I’d been trying her all night but couldn’t get through and had even dialed with my toes, perhaps not the best way to make the case for myself as a dashing date,” he writes.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Bill Gates' senior year photo for Lakeside’s school directory.Lakeside SchoolUltimately, she asked that he give her until the next day because there was somebody else she hoped would ask her — and that’s what ended up happening.For what it’s worth, Gates doesn’t hold anything against Weeks.“She couldn’t have been kinder, but she made it clear she saw me as a friend,” Gates recalls inSource Code, noting that he did still end up going to the prom “with a very cool junior.“Speaking with PEOPLE, Gates offered a little more insight as to why he brought his toes into the equation.Once he actually got Weeks on the phone, his inexperience with asking people got the better of him: “I hesitated, and then I tried to use a little bit of humor,” he says.“It didn’t work out in the end, but she treated me fairly,” he says, sharing that he eventually went on to become friends with her.Bill Gates.Ian Allen/Gates NotesThe PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!And at least for a time after he became one of the most successful businessmen in history, he says that Weeks never heard the end of turning him down when they were teenagers.He says, “Poor Vicki would be given a hard time about that for decades thereafter.”Source Codeis out now.
When it comes to dating,Bill Gatesadmits he didn’t have the most success when he was in high school.
In his new memoirSource Code— published earlier this month and covering his early life, before becoming a tech tycoon — the billionaire, 69, reflects on what happened when he finally worked up the courage to ask one of the most popular girls in the senior class to prom.
Inan interview with PEOPLE, Gates says that even at the time, he knew asking out Vicki Weeks, a classmate he knew through drama class, was a bit of risk.
He calls it a “very ambitious thing that I knew was a bit of a long shot – and something that I was very inept at doing.”
But what happened when he finally got her on the phone? Well…
“A few nights before the prom I screwed up the courage to call her,” Gates writes in his memoir. However, he kept on getting a busy signal.
“I dialed over and over, and at one point added the challenge of dialing the phone with my foot,” he writes.
When he finally was able to get her on the phone, he ended up telling her everything. Everything.
“I told her I’d been trying her all night but couldn’t get through and had even dialed with my toes, perhaps not the best way to make the case for myself as a dashing date,” he writes.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Bill Gates' senior year photo for Lakeside’s school directory.Lakeside School
Lakeside School
Ultimately, she asked that he give her until the next day because there was somebody else she hoped would ask her — and that’s what ended up happening.
For what it’s worth, Gates doesn’t hold anything against Weeks.
“She couldn’t have been kinder, but she made it clear she saw me as a friend,” Gates recalls inSource Code, noting that he did still end up going to the prom “with a very cool junior.”
Speaking with PEOPLE, Gates offered a little more insight as to why he brought his toes into the equation.
Once he actually got Weeks on the phone, his inexperience with asking people got the better of him: “I hesitated, and then I tried to use a little bit of humor,” he says.
“It didn’t work out in the end, but she treated me fairly,” he says, sharing that he eventually went on to become friends with her.
Bill Gates.Ian Allen/Gates Notes
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
And at least for a time after he became one of the most successful businessmen in history, he says that Weeks never heard the end of turning him down when they were teenagers.
He says, “Poor Vicki would be given a hard time about that for decades thereafter.”
Source Codeis out now.
source: people.com
