billionaire
Americannoun
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:
The list also includes a nearly $76 million townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side owned by the ex-wife of billionaire financier John Paulson and a property owned by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
A Polish billionaire is paying for a giant statue of the Virgin Mary that residents of the village of Konotopie hope will put them on the pilgrimage map.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
That is being paid by billionaire Roman Karkosik, a 75-year-old who is regularly listed as one of Poland's richest tycoons.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
A South Korean appeals court ordered billionaire Chey Tae-won of the SK conglomerate to pay his ex-wife roughly $645 million in cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Not so long ago H. Wayne Huizenga, the billionaire founder of Blockbuster and owner of the Miami Dolphins, wanted more elbow room and bought a neighboring house for $2.5 million.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
No counterculture event is more shrouded in hype than this annual gathering of thrill-seekers, Instagram influencers, billionaires and whichever artists can still afford to attend.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
Businesses and billionaires are drawn to Tennessee by its lack of state income and property taxes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
The ultra-catchy pop-rock confection “Divine Intervention” has a verse about seeing someone wearing a sandwich board that predicts the end of the world as billionaires run for cover.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Like other billionaires I met, I sensed that Sun rarely got to hang around people that didn't work for him or desire his money.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Lucky breaks don’t seem like the exception with software billionaires and rock bands and star athletes.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
