Public accounts portray Bill Gates and his son Rory John as sharing curiosity about how the world works, including visits to industrial sites. But those accounts are snapshots from 2017 and 2021; they do not establish the full private relationship or what it is like today.
What Bill Gates has said about Rory
In a 2021 interview with The Guardian, Bill Gates described Rory as curious and said they shared an interest in how things are made: “He has a deep amount of curiosity.”
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Source Code: My Beginnings | $14.89 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Who Is Bill Gates? (Who Was?) | $5.39 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire | $36.88 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Bill Gates: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies) | $24.28 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World | $8.65 | Buy on Amazon |
Gates said he took Rory to a power plant and other industrial sites, including a sewage plant, a garbage-processing facility, and a factory making toilet paper and paper towels. He recalled that the outings interested both of them. These examples offer a glimpse of time they spent together and a subject they enjoyed exploring; they are not a complete account of their relationship.
What Melinda French Gates has shared about family life
In a 2017 first-person essay for TIME, Melinda French Gates described Rory as curious, compassionate, and well-read. She also wrote about family conversations on gender equality at the dinner table.
#1 Best Overall
Melinda recounted traveling with Rory to East Africa to see foundation work in Malawi. That is her account of their time together and of family life; it provides context about Rory’s upbringing, but does not directly establish the private dynamics between Bill and Rory.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What these accounts can—and cannot—tell us
Bill’s comments are a direct description of his son and of shared outings, while Melinda’s essay offers a parent’s observations about Rory and their family. Taken together, they support a limited conclusion: the parents have publicly described a curious son and family experiences that included shared interests and discussion.
Rank #2
The accounts are historical: Bill’s interview was published in 2021 and Melinda’s essay in 2017. They do not reveal the full private relationship or establish its current state. The parents’ divorce in 2021, on its own, is not evidence that Bill and Rory are estranged, in conflict, or closer or more distant than before.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
Rank #3
- bill gates
- microsoft
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Recommended Free Tools




