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

Gaspar’s contributors in the runoff include billionaire developer Rick Caruso and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

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

And that’s money the billionaire can apply to pay down the debts of two troubled Delaware life insurers he owns that are under federal scrutiny.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

He took proceeds of the deal, around $20 million, and started the investment firm Directional Aviation, which made him a billionaire years later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

The hover ladder gently lowered the happy billionaire to the floor.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

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

Opponents fear that billionaires will flee California and harm the economy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

He skewers Farage, vowing not to take £5 million gifts from crypto billionaires, and spend more time in Clacton than Washington.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

It’s a rags-to-riches story, and everything we’ve learned so far from hockey players and software billionaires and the Termites suggests that success doesn’t happen that way.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell