The main documented connection between Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates is an unusually awkward comedy roast that Kimmel performed for Gates around the time Gates stepped away from his day-to-day role at Microsoft in 2008. Kimmel later described the performance as a disaster because Gates barely reacted to the jokes.
There is no reliable public evidence that Kimmel and Gates are close friends, business partners, or relatives. Their paths have crossed mainly through entertainment, major public events, and Kimmel’s comedy commentary about Gates.
Why Are Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates Connected?
Jimmy Kimmel is a television host, comedian, writer, and producer best known for ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!. ABC says the show is currently in its 23rd season, while the Television Academy lists Kimmel as its executive producer and host.
Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975 and later shifted much of his attention toward philanthropy. He currently serves as chair and a board member of the Gates Foundation, where he helps guide its strategy and global work.
The memorable link between these two very different public figures came when Kimmel was invited to roast Gates during Microsoft’s farewell period for its co-founder.
Jimmy Kimmel’s Bill Gates Roast
Kimmel discussed the episode publicly during an October 7, 2019 appearance on The Howard Stern Show. According to Kimmel, he had been invited to perform a genuine roast rather than a conventional tribute to Gates.
Kimmel said he agreed only after being assured that Gates understood what a roast involved and was comfortable being the target of jokes. He also wanted Gates sitting onstage because the guest of honor’s reaction can signal to the rest of the room that the jokes are being taken in good humor.
That did not happen.
Kimmel recalled Gates showing virtually no amusement while he performed. He summarized the experience to Howard Stern with four words: “It was a disaster.”
According to Kimmel’s account, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was one of the few people enthusiastically laughing. Kimmel said Ballmer’s reaction actually made the atmosphere more uncomfortable because Gates himself remained largely stone-faced.
It is important to distinguish Kimmel’s recollections from independently established facts. The detailed description of Gates’s reaction comes primarily from Kimmel himself, years after the event.
When Did Jimmy Kimmel Roast Bill Gates?
The safest date for the roast is around Gates’s 2008 Microsoft farewell, although widely available accounts do not establish the precise date of Kimmel’s performance with the same certainty as Microsoft’s corporate timeline.
Microsoft officially records June 27, 2008 as the day Gates transitioned out of his day-to-day role at the company to devote more time to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Microsoft had announced that transition two years earlier, explaining that Gates would remain chairman and an adviser after leaving daily management.
When Kimmel later told the story, he described the roast as taking place around Gates’s last day at Microsoft. For that reason, describing it as Gates’s 2008 Microsoft farewell roast is more precise than claiming a specific performance date that has not been independently confirmed.
Why Did the Roast Go So Badly?
A roast depends heavily on context. Harsh or embarrassing jokes are normally understood as part of the format, especially when the person being roasted visibly participates and laughs along.
Kimmel told Stern that Gates’s lack of reaction created the opposite effect. Once the room saw Gates was not laughing, the audience apparently became hesitant to laugh as well.
Kimmel remembered becoming increasingly frustrated during the performance. By his account, Gates eventually referred to him simply as “the comedian,” which Kimmel interpreted as another sign that the performance had not landed as intended.
Kimmel later seemed able to view the incident as a funny career story, which is why it resurfaced publicly in 2019, more than a decade after Gates changed his role at Microsoft.
Did the Roast Cause a Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates Feud?
There is no strong evidence of an ongoing feud between Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates.
The roast story documents an uncomfortable professional encounter, not a sustained personal conflict. Kimmel has continued to mention Gates in comedy over the years, just as he regularly jokes about major celebrities, billionaires, technology executives, and other public figures.
For example, when Bill and Melinda French Gates announced their divorce in 2021, Kimmel used the news as material for his opening monologue and made several jokes about Gates’s wealth and future dating life. That was standard late-night comedy rather than evidence of a new personal dispute between the two men.
No credible source establishes that Gates and Kimmel developed a lasting private rivalry because of the roast.
Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates Also Appeared in the Same Global Event
The roast was not their only documented public overlap.
On April 18, 2020, Kimmel was one of the three principal television hosts of One World: Together at Home, alongside Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert. The Global Citizen special was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to support health workers and the World Health Organization’s response efforts.
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates also appeared in the broadcast, discussing the pandemic response and the importance of developing and distributing vaccines. Global Citizen reported that the overall event generated $127.9 million in commitments for the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and regional response efforts.
That appearance put Gates and Kimmel within the same major television production, although it should not be interpreted as evidence of a personal collaboration between them.
Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| June 27, 2008 | Gates officially transitioned out of his day-to-day role at Microsoft. Kimmel later described performing a roast associated with Gates’s farewell period. |
| October 7, 2019 | Kimmel retold the awkward Gates roast story during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show. |
| April 18, 2020 | Kimmel co-hosted One World: Together at Home, which also included Bill and Melinda Gates. |
| May 2021 | Kimmel joked about Gates during a monologue following the announcement of Bill and Melinda French Gates’s divorce. |
| 2026 | Kimmel remains host and executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, while Gates serves as chair and board member of the Gates Foundation. |
Are Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates Friends?
There is no reliable public evidence showing that Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates have a close personal friendship.
Their best-known direct connection is Kimmel’s account of roasting Gates during his Microsoft farewell period. They have also participated in the same large-scale public broadcast and Gates has occasionally become the subject of Kimmel’s late-night jokes.
That is different from a documented friendship. Neither man’s official biography describes the other as a close associate, collaborator, or business partner.
Where Are Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates Now?
As of September 2026, both remain highly visible but work in very different fields.
Kimmel continues to lead Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC. The Television Academy also records him as the 2026 Emmy winner for Outstanding Host for a Game Show for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, alongside his continuing work in late-night television.
Gates remains heavily involved in philanthropy, technology, global health, climate and innovation. The Gates Foundation identifies him as its chair and board member. The foundation has also announced that it plans to spend down its resources and permanently close at the end of 2045, following Gates’s 2025 commitment to give virtually all of his remaining wealth to its work over the following two decades.
Their careers therefore continue on separate tracks. The enduring reason people search for Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates together remains the strange and memorable roast story more than any continuing partnership.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Jimmy Kimmel roast Bill Gates?
Yes. Kimmel has publicly said that he was hired to roast Gates during the Microsoft co-founder’s farewell period. He later described the performance on The Howard Stern Show in 2019.
Why did Jimmy Kimmel say the Bill Gates roast was a disaster?
Kimmel said Gates did not appear to laugh at his jokes, which made the audience uncomfortable and made the roast difficult to perform. Kimmel recalled Steve Ballmer being one of the few people laughing enthusiastically.
When did the Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates roast happen?
It was associated with Gates’s transition away from daily Microsoft responsibilities in 2008. Microsoft confirms that Gates formally left his day-to-day role on June 27, 2008, although the exact date of Kimmel’s roast is not clearly established in the most authoritative public records.
Are Bill Gates and Jimmy Kimmel friends?
There is no reliable public evidence confirming a close friendship. Their documented connection consists mainly of the Microsoft roast, shared participation in a major 2020 broadcast, and Kimmel’s occasional comedy commentary about Gates.
Have Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Gates worked together?
They have appeared within the same major media event. Kimmel co-hosted Global Citizen’s One World: Together at Home in 2020, while Bill and Melinda Gates contributed to the broadcast. That does not appear to have developed into an ongoing professional partnership.
What does Bill Gates do now?
Gates is chair and a board member of the Gates Foundation. His work currently focuses heavily on philanthropy and issues including global health, development, technology, climate and clean-energy innovation.
Sources
Microsoft’s official record of Bill Gates’s transition from daily management
The Howard Stern Show’s account of Jimmy Kimmel discussing the Gates roast
Global Citizen’s coverage of One World: Together at Home
