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:
Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has also sold his stake, meaning Clearlake - led by co-founders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano - have now acquired full control of the club.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
The billionaire didn’t address a claim by Macklemore that Kraft had whipped up support from other NFL owners whose stadiums host Sheeran’s tour to ice out the opening act altogether.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026
These include renewed investor enthusiasm following French billionaire Xavier Niel’s investment—specifically if he were to increase his stake or seek board representation—as well as the possibility of an upgrade to short-term guidance, he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Sheeran also confirmed he spoke with billionaire Robert Kraft, whose Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, where Sheeran is set to play later this month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
This billionaire philanthropist named Bernard Lutz set it up in conjunction with the public school system, like a school within a school—all you have to do to get in is pass a test.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
The course is located on Sentosa, an islet off the coast of Singapore that acts as a playground for billionaires, with multimillion-dollar homes and a sleek marina hosting superyachts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Fast forward to the last few days and along come these colossal donations from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, two cryptocurrency billionaires who until recently lived in Hong Kong and Thailand respectively.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Speaking at the same event, the head of open-source messaging application Signal, Meredith Whittaker, warned about AI being controlled by a handful of billionaires, but urged the audience "don't buy the hype".
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
The purchase is the latest example of how tech billionaires have been expanding their real estate holdings outside California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
