Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates

<h2 id="cast">Cast</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Bill_Gates/z16t4m7s">Bill Gates</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Melinda_Gates/eWwKwt83">Melinda Gates</a></li>
<li>Kristi Gates, sister of Bill</li>
<li>Libby Gates, sister of Bill</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Nicholas_Kristof/pLSVF5gB">Nicholas Kristof</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Warren_Buffett/6607Vdu5">Warren Buffett</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Vaclav_Smil/dNfv50k6">Vaclav Smil</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Nathan_Myhrvold/1vCo2S0X">Nathan Myhrvold</a></li></ul>
<h2 id="release">Release</h2>
<p><i>Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates</i> was released on September 20, 2019 on <a href="/facts/Netflix/TKtlFVY9">Netflix</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> The release came after a summer of "unusually bad press" in which "<i>The New Yorker</i> published emails from the MIT Media Lab suggesting that Gates was "directed" by the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to donate $2 million to the institution (Gates' representative has pushed back on that characterization), and activists have organized protests and petitions against the Gates Foundation's decision to give Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a humanitarian award."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="episodes">Episodes</h2>
<h3>Episode 1: Sanitation</h3>
<p>The first episode explores Gates's interest in improving <a href="/facts/Sanitation/NLGqBs2T">sanitation</a> in <a href="/facts/Developing_countries/eTfS4kxl">developing countries</a> and the development of the "<a href="/facts/Omni_Processor/cVpbGHUv">Omni Processor</a>". His two sisters share their childhood memories.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>
</p><p>The Omni Processor is treating 1/3 of the fecal sludge in Dakar, Senegal; it also produces potable water.
</p><p>In November 2018, the <a href="/facts/Lixil_Group/4TYJCeA3">Lixil Group</a> announced that it would develop one of Bill's toilets.
</p>
<h3>Episode 2</h3>
<p>Bill is seeking access to the <a href="/facts/Source_code/o9J6Jv23">source code</a> of the <a href="/facts/PDP-10/zlfam4wk">PDP-10</a> computer.
</p><p>Kent Evans, a teenage computer expert and friend of Bill Gates dies in an accident in 1972.
</p><p>The second episode focuses on Gates' work to <a href="/facts/Polio_eradication/GfAeHrse">eradicate polio</a> in <a href="/facts/Nigeria/gbW17BX8">Nigeria</a> and advance <a href="/facts/Polio_vaccine/nR2Tk2Um">polio vaccination</a>, also exploring his youth and friendships, for example with Kent Evans and with <a href="/facts/Paul_Allen/S0euHIKT">Paul Allen</a>, later the Microsoft co-founder.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a>
</p>
<h3>Episode 3</h3>
<p>The third episode explores Gates' search for <a href="/facts/Individual_and_political_action_on_climate_change/yNpoWyRR">climate change solutions</a>. This includes the development of a novel <a href="/facts/Traveling_wave_reactor/cqwSQVWx">travelling-wave</a> <a href="/facts/Nuclear_reactor/8xqjIbge">nuclear power reactor</a>, under development by <a href="/facts/TerraPower/PAebc04y">TerraPower</a>, a nuclear reactor design company founded by Gates. In addition to exploring  Bill's relationship and marriage with <a href="/facts/Melinda_Gates/eWwKwt83">Melinda Gates</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> the third episode also details his friendship with fellow billionaire <a href="/facts/Warren_Buffett/6607Vdu5">Warren Buffett</a> and the <a href="/facts/Antitrust_law/cq7hKYN4">antitrust law</a> case in 1998-2001, using original footage from the trial. In this trial, the U.S. government accused <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> of illegally maintaining its <a href="/facts/Monopoly/BXIQWUmR">monopoly</a> position in the PC market (see <i><a href="/facts/United_States_v._Microsoft_Corp./wnUnBagb">United States v. Microsoft Corp.</a></i>).
</p>
<h2 id="reviews">Reviews</h2>
<p>One review in 2019 said "<i>Inside Bill’s Brain</i> often feels more superficial than it actually is because it switches topics so freely". Much of this documentary is about his <a href="/facts/Charity_(practice)/zMRlNMQk">charity</a> work with the <a href="/facts/Bill_and_Melinda_Gates_Foundation/IW7prjCH">Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation</a>, not about his life, personality, or beliefs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> The same review said the second episode is the best one as it comes closest to "decoding" Gates.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a>
</p><p>According to <i><a href="/facts/The_Nation/JyIB3caJ">The Nation</a></i>, "The documentary’s blind spots are all the more striking in light of the timing of its release, just as news was trickling out that Bill Gates met multiple times with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein." The documentary features an interview with Bernie Noe, a friend of Gates, but "Guggenheim doesn’t tell audiences that Noe is the principal of <a href="/facts/Lakeside_School_(Seattle)/SwRSN7BK">Lakeside School</a>, a private institution to which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given $80 million. The filmmaker also doesn’t mention the extraordinary conflict of interest this presents: The Gateses used their charitable foundation to enrich the private school their children attend."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a>
</p>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80184771">Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates</a></i> on <a href="/facts/Netflix/TKtlFVY9">Netflix</a> </li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Bill Gates documentary series coming to Netflix from Inconvenient Truth director". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 20, 2019. <a href="https://ew.com/tv/2019/08/20/bill-gates-netflix-documentary/" target="_blank">https://ew.com/tv/2019/08/20/bill-gates-netflix-documentary/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>"Netflix Sets 3-Part Doc That 'Explores the Mind and Motivations' of Bill Gates". The Wrap. August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019. <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/netflix-bill-gates-docuseries-inside-bills-brain-decoding-bill-gates/" target="_blank">https://www.thewrap.com/netflix-bill-gates-docuseries-inside-bills-brain-decoding-bill-gates/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Press, Joy (September 16, 2019). "Bill Gates Is Saving the World, One Toilet at a Time". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 20, 2020. <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/09/bill-gates-interview-netflix-inside-bills-brain" target="_blank">https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/09/bill-gates-interview-netflix-inside-bills-brain</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>"Bill Gates documentary series coming to Netflix from Inconvenient Truth director". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 20, 2019. <a href="https://ew.com/tv/2019/08/20/bill-gates-netflix-documentary/" target="_blank">https://ew.com/tv/2019/08/20/bill-gates-netflix-documentary/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>"Bill Gates' quiet summer of learning to BBQ, recommending books, and working a shift at Dairy Queen was interrupted by 2 scandals". Business Insider. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-summer-book-list-bbq-dairy-queen-epstein-scandal-2019-9" target="_blank">https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-summer-book-list-bbq-dairy-queen-epstein-scandal-2019-9</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>"Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates". Netflix. 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020. <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80184771" target="_blank">https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80184771</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>"Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates". Netflix. 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020. <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80184771" target="_blank">https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80184771</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:8"><p>Murray, Noel (September 18, 2019). "A new Netflix docuseries heads inside Bill Gates' brain, but it keeps getting sidetracked". The Verge. Retrieved April 20, 2020. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/18/20872239/inside-bills-brain-decoding-bill-gates-movie-review-netflix-microsoft-documentary-series" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/18/20872239/inside-bills-brain-decoding-bill-gates-movie-review-netflix-microsoft-documentary-series</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:9"><p>Murray, Noel (September 18, 2019). "A new Netflix docuseries heads inside Bill Gates' brain, but it keeps getting sidetracked". The Verge. Retrieved April 20, 2020. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/18/20872239/inside-bills-brain-decoding-bill-gates-movie-review-netflix-microsoft-documentary-series" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/18/20872239/inside-bills-brain-decoding-bill-gates-movie-review-netflix-microsoft-documentary-series</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:10"><p>Murray, Noel (September 18, 2019). "A new Netflix docuseries heads inside Bill Gates' brain, but it keeps getting sidetracked". The Verge. Retrieved April 20, 2020. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/18/20872239/inside-bills-brain-decoding-bill-gates-movie-review-netflix-microsoft-documentary-series" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/18/20872239/inside-bills-brain-decoding-bill-gates-movie-review-netflix-microsoft-documentary-series</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:11"><p>Schwab, Tim (March 17, 2020). "Bill Gates Gives to the Rich (Including Himself)". The Nation. <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/bill-gates-foundation-philanthropy/" target="_blank">https://www.thenation.com/article/society/bill-gates-foundation-philanthropy/</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

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Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates