billionaire

American  

[bil-yuh-nair, bil-yuh-nair] / ˌbɪl jəˈnɛər, ˈbɪl jəˌnɛər /

noun

• billionaires
  plural

1. a person who has assets worth a billion or more dollars, euros, etc.

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billionaire British  

/ ˌbɪljəˈnɛə /

noun

1. a person whose assets are worth over a billion of the monetary units of his country

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• billionaires
  plural

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

See Examples For:

billionaire billionaires

Cristiano Ronaldo grew up in poverty on the remote island of Madeira, but became football's first billionaire player, and one of the most recognisable people on the planet.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

In reopening the mall, the billionaire real estate mogul whose company owns the Grove, the Americana at Brand and the Commons at Calabasas has taken something of a risk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Now, the old guard—many of them retirees—are mounting a last stand against what they often view as billionaire interlopers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, reportedly worth $32 billion, is also a member of the consortium, while the group's frontman --Amit Bhatia -- is the son-in-law of Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

I'm expecting her to say be president, or an astronaut, or a film star, or a billionaire CEO, or the queen of a tropical isle.

From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon

With the move, Schultz joins a growing list of billionaires who have relocated to Florida in recent months.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

Then, the hosts discuss the billionaires who are buying themselves fun little treats like the L.A.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026

Heads of state, billionaires, royalty, global celebrities and other high-profile people were exposed and implicated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

This year, Thrive raised $10 billion, it’s largest fundraising round yet, drawing investments from global billionaires such as India’s Mukesh Ambani, the world’s 12th richest person, according to Bloomberg.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Lucky breaks don’t seem like the exception with software billionaires and rock bands and star athletes.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell