billionaire

IPA/ˌbɪljəˈneə(r)/
KK[bˌɪljənˈɛr]IPA/ˌbɪljəˈner/

billionaire — noun

  • billionairesingular
  • billionairesplural

1. someone whose total wealth — counting cash, shares, houses, and other assets — r

1.nounB2
Definition

someone whose total wealth — counting cash, shares, houses, and other assets — reaches at least one billion in dollars, pounds, or some other currency.

Example

Elon Musk became a billionaire after his early shares in PayPal soared in value.

become + a billionaire as a count noun

Zane joined the small club of self-made billionaires after his app sold for two billion.

collocation: self-made billionaire

Common collocations
  • self-made billionaire
  • tech billionaire
  • reclusive billionaire
  • eccentric billionaire
  • billionaire philanthropist
Synonyms
  • tycoon

    stresses business power and influence, not just net worth

  • magnate

    formal; a powerful figure in one industry, who may or may not be worth a full billion

  • plutocrat

    negative; someone whose wealth gives them political power

  • mogul

    informal; usually tied to a specific field like media or property

Antonyms
  • pauper

    literary; someone with no money at all

Grammar Patterns

a/the + billionaire

billionaire + noun (compound modifier)

Usage Note

Always countable, and used for individual people, not companies or families as a unit. Often appears as a compound modifier before another noun (billionaire investor, billionaire founder) to mark someone's wealth class. The currency is usually dollars unless context names another.

Common Mistakes

My uncle has a billionaire.
My uncle is a billionaire.
use 'be a billionaire' for the person; you can't 'have' one as a possession.
The company is a billionaire in Asia.
The company's founder is a billionaire in Asia.
only people are billionaires, never companies.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words describe extremely wealthy people, but they differ in what they emphasise. 'Billionaire' is the most neutral and is purely about a number — net worth of at least a billion. 'Tycoon' and 'magnate' both stress business power: a tycoon is usually self-made and aggressive, while a magnate is more formal and tied to one industry, like a steel magnate or shipping magnate. 'Mogul' is informal and field-specific — you hear it most about media moguls, film moguls, or property moguls. 'Plutocrat' carries a negative tone, suggesting that the person's wealth buys unfair political influence. So a tech founder worth two billion is comfortably a billionaire and a tech mogul; reporters call him a magnate when discussing his industry power and a plutocrat when criticising his lobbying.

billionaire ↗tycoon ↗magnate ↗mogul ↗plutocrat

Common collocations

Nouns

  • billionaire investor
  • billionaire founder
  • billionaire owner
  • billionaire philanthropist
  • billionaire heiress

Phrases

  • become a billionaire
  • world's richest billionaire
  • list of billionaires
  • club of billionaires

Prepositions

  • billionaire from [country]
  • billionaire in [industry]

Etymology

LatinItalianFrenchEnglish

Coined in American English in the late 1800s by adding the prefix 'bi-' (meaning two, by analogy with 'million' → 'billion') to the older word 'millionaire', which English had borrowed from French in the early 1800s. French built 'millionnaire' from 'million' plus the suffix '-aire', meaning a person connected with the thing. So 'billionaire' literally signals someone at the next order of wealth above a millionaire, and the same pattern later produced 'trillionaire'.