multimillionaire: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1-C2Formal to neutral. Common in journalism, business reporting, and biographical contexts.
Quick answer
What does “multimillionaire” mean?
A person whose wealth amounts to many millions of units of currency (e.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A person whose wealth amounts to many millions of units of currency (e.g., pounds, dollars).
A person whose net worth significantly exceeds one million, typically implying wealth in the tens of millions or more, granting them financial independence and considerable socio-economic influence. The term often implies a self-made status rather than inherited wealth.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or form. Spelling follows national conventions for the component words (e.g., 'multimillionaire' itself is identical).
Connotations
Slightly more common in UK media, possibly due to a historical fondness for the 'millionaire' term; in the US, 'billionaire' is often a more newsworthy threshold.
Frequency
Comparatively frequent in both varieties, with a slight edge in UK corpus data relative to population size.
Grammar
How to Use “multimillionaire” in a Sentence
[Subject] is a multimillionaire.[Subject] became a multimillionaire through [noun phrase/gerund].The multimillionaire invested in [noun phrase].Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “multimillionaire” in a Sentence
adjective
British English
- She comes from a multimillionaire family.
- He received a multimillionaire payout.
American English
- She comes from a multimillionaire family.
- He received a multimillionaire payout.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Used to describe the financial status of entrepreneurs, investors, or founders, e.g., 'The deal turned the startup's founder into a multimillionaire.'
Academic
Rare in core disciplines; appears in economic sociology, history, or biography studies discussing wealth distribution.
Everyday
Used in news consumption and general discussion about wealth, e.g., 'I read about a multimillionaire who donated half his fortune.'
Technical
Not a technical financial term; used loosely in wealth management and journalism.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “multimillionaire”
- Misspelling as 'multi-millionaire' (hyphenated form is less common in modern usage).
- Confusing with 'billionaire'.
- Using as an adjective without a noun (e.g., 'He is multimillionaire' is incorrect; it's 'He is a multimillionaire').
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no official minimum, but the term implies wealth significantly beyond a single million, typically starting around two to five million units of currency.
Primarily a noun (e.g., 'She is a multimillionaire'). It can be used attributively as a compound adjective (e.g., 'a multimillionaire businessman'), but not predicatively as a standalone adjective.
A billionaire has a net worth of at least one thousand million (1,000,000,000) units of currency, which is at least two orders of magnitude greater than the lower threshold for a multimillionaire.
It is an accepted variant but less common in contemporary usage. The closed form 'multimillionaire' is now standard in most dictionaries and publications.
A person whose wealth amounts to many millions of units of currency (e.
Multimillionaire is usually formal to neutral. common in journalism, business reporting, and biographical contexts. in register.
Multimillionaire: in British English it is pronounced /ˌmʌl.tiˌmɪl.jəˈneər/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌmʌl.tiˌmɪl.jəˈner/ˌmʌl.taɪˌmɪl.jəˈner/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “From rags to multimillionaire riches.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: MULTIple MILLIONS + aire (like 'millionaire') = a person with multiple millions.
Conceptual Metaphor
WEALTH IS A LADDER/SCALE: 'Multimillionaire' is a higher rung than 'millionaire'.
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following best describes the core implication of 'multimillionaire' compared to 'millionaire'?