Dictionary

billionaire en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌbɪl.i.əˈnɛə(ɹ)/ (UK)
• /ˌbɪl.jəˈnɛɚ/ (US)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *dwís Proto-Italic *dwis Old Latin duis Latin bisder. French bi- Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sm̥- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂ Proto-Indo-European *smih₂ Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- Proto-Indo-European *-lom Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslom ▲ Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂ Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslih₂ Proto-Indo-European *smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ Proto-Italic *smīɣeslī Latin mīlle Italian mille Proto-Indo-European *-ōder. Proto-Indo-European *-Hōder.? Latin -ōnem Italian -one Italian milionebor. Old French million Middle French million French millionbf. French -illion French billionbor. English billion ▲ French million Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusder. French -aire French millionnairebor. English millionaire English -aire English billionaire From billion + -aire.

Meanings

1. Somebody whose wealth is at least one billion (10⁹) currency units (usually understood to exclude holders of hyperinflated currencies).
   • The ranks of the billionaire class last year grew by just over 200 to nearly 2,770 people. Their wealth skyrocketed by $2.1 trillion — three times faster than the year before — to a total of $15 trillion. In the United States alone, where 816 billionaires reside, the net worth of this group soared by $1.4 trillion. 2025 January 19, Tami Luhby, “Get ready for the world’s first trillionaires”, in CNN, archived from the original on 28 Feb 2025:
   • Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today. 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 19 Apr 2020, page 70:

Forms

Deriveds

multibillionaire · billionairess · superbillionaire · nonbillionaire · centibillionaire · billionairedom · decabillionaire · demibillionaire · bullionaire · antibillionaire · hectobillionaire

Relateds

crorepati · millionaire · trillionaire

Synonyms

milliardaire

Translations (55)

ko 억만장자 (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · th มหาเศรษฐี (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · sh милијардер (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · ja 億万長者 (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · ur ارب پتی (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · no milliardær (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · el δισεκατομμυριούχος (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · hu milliárdos (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · uk мільярде́р (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · mn тэрбумтан (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · id milyader (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · pl miliarderka (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · vi tỉ phú (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · sv miljardär (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · es billonario (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · rm milliardari (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · ar مِلْيَارْدِير (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · fi miljardööri (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · he מיליארדרית (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · be мільярдэ́рка (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · tr milyarder (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · be мільярдэ́р (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · et miljardär (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · kk миллиардер (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · ja ビリオネア (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · ru миллиарде́р (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · it miliardario (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · de Milliardärin (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · ru миллиарде́рша (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · sw bilionea (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · hy միլիարդատեր (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · km អ្នកមានលុយរាប់រយកោដិ (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · uk мільярде́рка (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · yue 億萬富翁 /亿万富翁 (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · mk милијарде́р (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · es milmillonario (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · es millardario (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · fr milliardaire (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · fa میلیاردر (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · my ဘီလီယံနာ (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · cs miliardář (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · ro miliardar (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · pt bilionário (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · nl miljardair (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · ka მილიარდერი (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · sh milijarder (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · cmn 億萬富翁 /亿万富翁 (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · da milliardær (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · eo miliardulo (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · th กุฎุมพี (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · he מיליארדר (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · ro miliardară (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · de Milliardär (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · pl miliarder (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹)) · is milljarðamæringur (wealth exceeding one billion (10⁹))