There’s rich, and then there’s Bill Gates rich. Yet he spends his days thinking about toilets in sub-Saharan Africa.
This documentary opens up the weird, driven, Diet Coke-fueled mind of the nerdiest superhero on the planet.
Did you know? My Daily Doc colleague Rob Kelly was disasppointed that the doc didn’t show Bill’ ‘s famous rocking back and forth. He does this when he’s either highly energized or agitated (here’s an example when he’s agitated). Rob interviewed Bill once and saw him doing it for about 10 minutes straight (fortunately for Rob, he was energized. 🙂 .
Trailer for “Inside Bill’s Brain”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Gates went to Dakar, Senegal, to test a machine that burns human feces and turns it into drinking water—part of his “reinvent the toilet” campaign for the developing world.
- His “Omni Processor” is already handling one-third of Dakar’s fecal sludge. Yes, you read that right. One-third.
- His childhood friend Kent Evans, who he wanted to start a company with, died in a mountaineering accident when they were teens. Gates never talks about it—but this doc makes it clear it shaped his obsession with time, memory, and control.
Watch “Inside Bill’s Brain”
You can stream “Inside Bill’s Brain” on Netflix here.
You can also check JustWatch for other viewing options.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 89/100 (Users); 43/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: This is directed by Davis Guggenheim, who also did “An Inconvenient Truth” (which my colleague Rob Kelly rated 92/100!), “It Might Get Loud” (which Rob rated 88/100) and “He Named Me Malala,”. He’s big on telling stories about people trying to solve impossible problems.
Release Date: September 20, 2019
My Review of “Inside Bill’s Brain”
The Setup
This isn’t a corporate origin story. You get some Microsoft, but most of it is Gates as a public health nerd and clean energy wonk. He’s tackling stuff like polio, sanitation, and climate change—using spreadsheets and science instead of politics.
The series bounces between his childhood in Seattle, his early days at Microsoft with Paul Allen, and his current work with the Gates Foundation (and ex-wife Melinda). Oh—and he reads 50 books a year and carries bags of them on vacation like other people pack socks.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Gates drinks a glass of water made from human waste in Episode 1—and makes it look like it’s just another Tuesday.
- We get inside his “Think Week” ritual—a solo retreat where he reads nonstop and writes notes to his team. He sometimes powers through 12 books in a few days.
- He tracks everything—including what time he goes to bed, what books he’s finished, and even old files from Microsoft’s early days (stored in paper binders).
- Melinda Gates (his then-wife) opens up about their relationship—including how hard it was to get Bill to consider marriage. She gave him an ultimatum and he made a pros-and-cons list in his notebook. Yep, a literal list.
- The doc shows Gates lobbying world leaders, pushing his clean energy ideas even in hostile rooms where no one wants to hear from a software guy.
- He’s personally bankrolling a next-gen nuclear reactor called a “traveling-wave reactor.” He wants it to solve global climate change, and is willing to risk billions and regulatory headaches to try.
Cameos – Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Bill’s favorite food? He’s a sucker for Diet Coke and cheeseburgers. He eats the same lunch most days—burger, fries, Diet Coke.
- He still uses a yellow legal pad for handwritten notes—and writes in tiny, neat print like a student prepping for finals.
- TerraPower, the nuclear company Gates helped start, faced a huge blow when the Trump administration’s China policy killed their joint project with the Chinese government.
- He keeps a whiteboard in his home office where he sketches out solutions to global problems like he’s solving math homework.
- He re-reads “The Great Gatsby” regularly—and quotes it in a way that makes you realize he’s memorized entire passages.
Wrap Up
Gates is trying to change the world, and he’s doing it with engineering blueprints and a $100 billion bankroll. “Inside Bill’s Brain” is a reminder that some billionaires really do build toilets, not yachts.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc