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- Bill Gates addressed some of the pandemic conspiracy theories about him in a new interview.
- Microsoft's cofounder said he has to "have a sense of humor" about theories concerning trackable microchips.
- Conspiracy theories linking Gates to COVID-19 began to circulate early in the pandemic.
Bill Gates is trying to make light of some of the conspiracy theories about him.
Speaking on "The Life Scientific" on BBC Radio 4, the Microsoft cofounder addressed a viral conspiracy theory that he was behind a plan to implant trackable microchips in people during the pandemic.
"You got to have a sense of humor," Gates said about the conspiracy theories. "When people say that I want to track everyone — why do I want to track everyone?"
He said someone once confronted him in the street, yelling and making accusations: "I'm like 'wow, I really don't want to know your location.'"
Conspiracy theories linking Gates to COVID-19 began to circulate early in the pandemic and the Microsoft cofounder has addressed the issue more than once.
In 2022, Gates said he never expected to be the subject of viral misinformation.
"Some of it like me putting chips in arms doesn't make sense to me — why would I want to do that?" he posted on X.
Gates said on the BBC program that many people were still paying a price for how the world handled the pandemic.
"In terms of deaths and mental health and learning loss and loved ones who died, we're still paying a price for not having handled that well at all," he said.
Gates is the world's fifth-richest person worth $158 billion, per Bloomberg, despite donating some of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation set up in 2000.
Gates representatives did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.