How to Say "Billionaire" in French

milliardaire

/mi.ljaʁ.dɛʁ/feminine, masculine

The English phrase "billionaire" is translated into French as milliardaire.

milliardaire is used to describe a person whose wealth exceeds one billion (10⁹).

Meaning: wealth exceeding one billion (10<sup>9</sup>) (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The word is derived from milliard, which means one billion (10⁹) in French.

milliardaire can be used as both a masculine and a feminine noun.

/mi.ljaʁ.dɛʁ/

English speakers often mistakenly use billionnaire (with two 'n's) or billionaire in French, but the correct term is milliardaire.

In a French context, calling someone a billionaire instead of a milliardaire could accidentally imply they are a thousand times richer than intended.
The word milliard was specifically created in France during the late 18th century to bridge the mathematical gap between a million and a billion.
The suffix -aire in milliardaire is also used to describe professions or statuses, such as notaire for a notary or millionnaire for a millionaire.

Imaginez que vous êtes milliardaire.
Imagine yourself as a billionaire.
This sentence is useful for practicing the use of milliardaire in a hypothetical scenario.
Tatoeba #10984270 by Aiji, translation #264554 by AlanF_US
Comment est-ce que je peux devenir milliardaire ?
How can I become a billionaire?
This sentence shows how to ask a question using milliardaire.
Tatoeba #8382538 by Aiji, translation #7132460 by CK
Le libertarianisme imprègne les croyances de la classe des milliardaires.
Libertarianism suffuses the beliefs of the billionaire class.
This sentence demonstrates the use of the plural form milliardaires.
Tatoeba #12126114 by lbdx, translation #12126113 by timmartin
Jean-Luc est un milliardaire célèbre dans le monde des affaires.
Jean-Luc is a famous billionaire in the business world.
Ce milliardaire est connu pour sa générosité, il est vraiment le Crésus moderne !
This billionaire is known for his generosity, he truly is the modern Croesus!
10 more sentences on Tatoeba

Lucas and Chloé are discussing a news article about a wealthy entrepreneur.

Lucas

Il est devenu milliardaire en vendant son entreprise.
He became a billionaire by selling his company.
Chloé

C'est incroyable, il a tellement d'argent !
That's incredible, he has so much money!
Lucas

Oui, être milliardaire doit être très différent.
Yes, being a billionaire must be very different.
Chloé

Je suis d'accord, Lucas.
I agree, Lucas.

Sources

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