Bill Gates says he tracked employees' hours by memorizing their license plate numbers

In this Sept. 27, 2015 file photo, Bill Gates, philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, participates in a session at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City. In this Sept. 27, 2015 file photo, Bill Gates, philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, participates in a session at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City. Photo: Mark Lennihan, Associated Press Photo: Mark Lennihan, Associated Press Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Bill Gates says he tracked employees' hours by memorizing their license plate numbers 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

If you thought your boss was controlling, get this. In a recent interview with BBC Radio, Bill Gates said in the early days of Microsoft he tracked his workers and monitored their hours by memorizing their license plate numbers.

"I had to be a little careful not to try and apply my standards to how hard they worked," he told host Kirsty Young on the show Desert Island Discs, in which guests talk about the eight songs they'd bring with them to a desert island.

He went on: "You know, I knew everyone's license plates so I could look out in the parking lot and see when did people come in, when were they leaving. Eventually I had to loosen up, as the company got to a reasonable size."

Gates admits that he was a workaholic when he first co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975, saying "I worked weekends, I didn't really believe in vacations."

With the help of his wife Melinda Gates, he has since learned to enjoy time off.

"And you know now we actually take quite a few vacations," he said. "I'm sure myself in my twenties would look at my schedule now and find it very wimpy indeed."