billionaire

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UK/ˌbɪl.i.əˈnɛə(ɹ)/US/ˌbɪl.jəˈnɛɚ/

noun

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

Meanings

nounbillionaire (plural billionaires)

plural billionaires

  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

Synonyms & antonyms

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

Origin

  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.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مِلْيَارْدِير
  • مِلْيَارْدِير (milyārdīr)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Chinese Cantonese 億萬富翁 /亿万富翁
  • 億萬富翁 /亿万富翁 (jik¹ maan⁶ fu³ jung¹)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Chinese Mandarin 億萬富翁 /亿万富翁
  • 億萬富翁 /亿万富翁 (yìwàn fùwēng)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Czech miliardář
  • miliardářwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Danish milliardær
  • milliardærwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Dutch miljardair
  • miljardairwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Esperanto miliardulo
  • miliardulowealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Estonian miljardär
  • miljardärwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Finnish miljardööri
  • miljardööriwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
French milliardaire
  • milliardairewealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
German Milliardär, Milliardärin
  • Milliardärwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
  • Milliardärinwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Greek δισεκατομμυριούχος
  • δισεκατομμυριούχος (disekatommyrioúchos)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Hebrew מיליארדר, מיליארדרית
  • מיליארדר (miliarder)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
  • מיליארדרית (miliarderit)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Hungarian milliárdos
  • milliárdoswealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Icelandic milljarðamæringur
  • milljarðamæringurwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Indonesian milyader
  • milyaderwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Italian miliardario
  • miliardariowealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Japanese 億万長者, ビリオネア
  • 億万長者 (okumanchōja)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
  • ビリオネア (birionea)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Korean 억만장자
  • 억만장자 (eongmanjangja)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Norwegian milliardær
  • milliardærwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Persian میلیاردر
  • میلیاردر (miliyârder)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Polish miliarder, miliarderka
  • miliarderwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
  • miliarderkawealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Portuguese bilionário
  • bilionáriowealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Romanian miliardar, miliardară
  • miliardarwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
  • miliardarăwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Russian миллиарде́р, миллиарде́рша
  • миллиарде́р (milliardér)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
  • миллиарде́рша (milliardérša)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Spanish milmillonario, millardario
  • milmillonariowealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
  • millardariowealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
  • billonariowealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Swahili bilionea
  • bilioneawealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Swedish miljardär
  • miljardärwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Thai มหาเศรษฐี, กุฎุมพี
  • มหาเศรษฐี (má-hǎa-sèet-tǐi)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
  • กุฎุมพี (gù-dum-pii)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Turkish milyarder
  • milyarderwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Ukrainian мільярде́р, мільярде́рка
  • мільярде́р (milʹjardér)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
  • мільярде́рка (milʹjardérka)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Urdu ارب پتی
  • ارب پتی (arab patī)wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Vietnamese tỉ phú
  • tỉ phúwealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>)
Cite this entry
APA

billionaire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/billionaire

MLA

“billionaire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/billionaire. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “billionaire,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/billionaire.

Source: billionaire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.