Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), was the richest man in the world from 1995 to 2017 (except for 2008). He was in that position again from 2010 to 2013. He has dropped to the number eight spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires list.

The uncertain future of computers and software led Microsoft's Bill Gates to explore other career paths — including becoming a politician.

In his new book, Source Code, Gates recalls a unique childhood that led him to build a technology empire. We talk BASIC, old PCs, Microsoft's future, and AI's promise and perils.

Consider including this question in a New Mexico-centric trivia contest: What New Mexico city saw the start of a software company that eventually became an industry giant? The answer? Albuquerque. The company?

Bill Gates' anxiety over tech rivals caused him to constantly worry about Microsoft's demise, even years after it became one of the world's biggest companies.

Gates tells Axios he hopes that kids like him will benefit from his sharing this part of himself. "I think kids [on the autism spectrum] should think of it as a strength and something they need to acknowledge to themselves and think about,