Bill Gates admits trying drugs in past, makes shocking revelation about Steve Jobs' remark on LSD, says...

Bill Gates has shared personal stories from his childhood and teenage years in his memoir, Source Code, which is the first book in a series about his life. Before the book’s release, he spoke with People magazine about some lesser-known aspects of his youth, including his experiences with alcohol and drugs. At 69, the Microsoft co-founder reflected on his teenage years and the time he spent with his childhood friend and future Microsoft partner, Paul Allen.

One of the most surprising details Gates revealed was that he tried LSD (a hallucinogenic drug) about four or five times. One of these instances was during his high school’s “senior skip day,” a tradition where seniors take an unofficial day off. He recalled that he still felt the effects of the drug the next day while getting a dental procedure. Jokingly, he blamed Paul Allen and musician Jimi Hendrix for influencing his choices.

Gates also admitted to smoking marijuana in high school in an attempt to appear cool and impress girls. However, he humorously confessed that his plan didn’t work. Eventually, he stopped using drugs in his early 20s, realizing that he preferred keeping his mind sharp. “I like my brain to work logically,” he explained. Even marijuana, he said, made his thinking feel sloppy, so he decided to give it up entirely.

Another memory he shared was about his first experience with alcohol. He drank too much, ended up throwing up, and passed out in his school’s teachers’ lounge.

Gates also recalled a lighthearted conversation with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs about drug use. Jobs once joked that taking LSD might have improved Gates’ design skills. In response, Gates laughed and said, "I got the wrong batch—I got the coding batch, and he got the marketing-design batch." Despite their business rivalry, Gates admitted that Jobs had a unique talent for design and marketing, which he always admired.

He also mentioned that he found Michael Pollan’s book, How to Change Your Mind, interesting. The book explores the potential therapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs to treat mental health conditions like depression and OCD. While Gates found the research fascinating, he stressed the importance of caution and made it clear that medical use is very different from recreational drug use.

Through these stories, Gates gave readers a rare glimpse into his younger years, showing that even one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs had moments of experimentation and youthful mistakes before finding his path to success.