billionaire
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billionaire
A person whose wealth amounts to at least one billion units of currency, such as euros or dollars.
Der Tech-Unternehmer wurde durch den Börsengang seiner Firma zum Milliardär.
The tech entrepreneur became a billionaire through his company's IPO.
The word is made up of 'Milliarde' (billion) and the suffix '-är'. This suffix often refers to a person connected with the base word, similar to 'Million' (million) and 'Millionär' (millionaire).
Mit dem Verkauf seiner App wurde er über Nacht zum Millionär.
By selling his app, he became a millionaire overnight.
'Der Milliardär' (the billionaire) is a noun of the N-declension. This means it takes the ending '-en' in all cases except the nominative singular.
Die Journalistin hat ein Interview mit dem Milliardären geführt.
The journalist conducted an interview with the billionaire.
Common expressions are 'zum Milliardär werden' (to become a billionaire) or 'als Milliardär gelten' (to be considered a billionaire). These describe the process of becoming rich or the status a person has.
Er gilt als einer der reichsten Milliardäre der Welt.
He is considered one of the richest billionaires in the world.
millionaire
'der Millionär' and 'der Milliardär' both refer to very rich people. The difference lies in the size of their wealth. A 'Millionär' owns at least one million; a 'Milliardär' owns at least one billion. One billion is one thousand million. Learners can easily confuse the words because they look similar and both have to do with great wealth. If it is only about one or several millions, you say 'Millionär'. For wealth of one billion or more, you say 'Milliardär'.
Der Milliardär spendete viel Geld für neue Krankenhäuser.
The billionaire donated a lot of money for new hospitals.
Nach dem Verkauf seiner Firma wurde Max Millionär.
After selling his company, Max became a millionaire.