Not only that, he was also better than Gates at math. From the acquired podcast episode on Microsoft:

> Ben: He's gregarious. Anyone who's ever met Steve or seen a video of Steve, you are well aware that this man has a presence. But the thing that people don't know about him is he is so unbelievably analytical. Steve is the guy that outscored Bill Gates on the Putnam exam.

source: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/microsoft