It's not evident that Gatsby knows the specific details of the rumors -- that he "killed a man" or is related to von Hindenburg -- but clearly he is aware that people have been talking about him. In chapter 4, on their drive to visit Meyer Wolfsheim, Gatsby says to Nick, "... I'm going to tell you something about my life ... I don't want you to get a wrong idea of me from all these stories you hear." Later, in chapter 7, Nick asks Gatsby why he fired all of his servants, to which Gatsby replies, "I wanted somebody who wouldn't gossip." So while he seems to do little to quash the rumors publicly -- perhaps even relishing the mystique they confer upon him -- he's not oblivious to the fact that he has some notoriety among the guests that frequent his parties.
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