billionaire
Americannoun
-
billionaires
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of billionaire
First recorded in 1855–60, billion + -aire, on the model of millionaire
Explanation
Someone who lives in the U.S. and has money, property, and investments worth at least a billion dollars is a billionaire. Being a billionaire is dependent on a country's currency; in Europe, a net worth of a billion Euros makes someone a billionaire. There are around 2,500 Americans in this category, each possessing at least $1 billion — or a thousand million dollars. During the pandemic, U.S. billionaires increased their wealth by than $1.7 trillion dollars. The French billion was originally defined as "a million million," from bi-, "two," and million, but that was altered to "a thousand million."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Amarillo billionaire Alex Fairly, meanwhile, had maxed out to Paxton’s direct campaign account with a $7,000 donation in the spring; in late August, he gave $274,300 to Paxton’s joint fundraising committee.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
The tech billionaire described the development as "what happens when you have a collaboration with the world's best car company and the world's best rocket company," referring to Tesla and SpaceX.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Edens spokesman previously said the billionaire reached out to law enforcement out of concern for the safety of himself and his family.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Howard Lutnick, the billionaire commerce secretary, bragged last year that if the Social Security Administration stopped sending checks to his mother-in-law she wouldn’t complain.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
If finding fugitives doesn’t work out for me as a career, I might get into guardianship of billionaire children.
From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
“The data will show you that there are billionaires in 47 states.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
By contrast, in America today, billionaires treat longevity like a full-time job, locking themselves in cryotherapy chambers, getting regular peptide jabs and making the pursuit of living forever look thoroughly joyless.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The wealth of billionaires is tied heavily to stock prices that fluctuate, and they might take actions to reduce their taxes, the analysis said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
At the top, in the realm of multimillionaires and billionaires, you will find the Hall of Mar-a-Lago faces.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
Today, anyone may have a shot at becoming a United States Supreme Court justice or a CEO, and there are more and more self-made billionaires.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
