billionaire

What it means

1. Somebody whose wealth is at least one billion (10⁹) currency units (usually understood to exclude holders of hyperinflated currencies).

   2 more examples

   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

   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

   Synonyms: milliardaire

In a sentence

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

Where it comes from

1. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
2. Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
3. Proto-Indo-European*dwís
4. Proto-Italic*dwis
5. Old Latinduis
6. Latinbis
7. Frenchbi-
8. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
9. Proto-Indo-European*sm̥-
10. Proto-Indo-European*smih₂
11. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰes-
12. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰéslom
13. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰéslih₂
14. Proto-Indo-European*smih₂ǵʰéslih₂
15. Proto-Italic*smīɣeslī
16. Latinmīlle
17. Italianmille
18. Italianmilione
19. Old Frenchmillion
20. Middle Frenchmillion
21. Frenchmillionbf.
22. Frenchbillion
23. Englishbillion
24. Frenchmillion
25. Frenchmillionnaire
26. Englishmillionaire
27. Englishbillionaire

From billion + -aire.