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This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of English; it has long been established in American English and has since become common in Britain and other English-speaking countries as well. [1] [2] [3] 1,000,000,000,000, i.e. one million million, or 10 12 (ten to the twelfth power), as defined on the long scale. This number ...
One billion years may be called an eon in astronomy or geology. Previously in British English (but not in American English), the word "billion" referred exclusively to a million millions (1,000,000,000,000). However, this is not common anymore, and the word has been used to mean one thousand million (1,000,000,000) for several decades.
Traditional American usage (which was also adapted from French usage but at a later date), Canadian, and modern British usage assign new names for each power of one thousand (the short scale). Thus, a billion is 1000 × 1000 2 = 10 9; a trillion is 1000 × 1000 3 = 10 12; and so forth.
For most people, it's hard to imagine having even a million dollars, let a billion. However, fortunes totaling $1 billion -- and much, much more -- are a reality for the richest people in the...
Per Forbes (April 2024) [1]; Rank Rank per capita Country/Territory Billionaires Rate - World 2,781: 0.343 1 11 United States 813: 2.420 2 53 China 406: 0.288 3 58 India 200: 0.144
Each of these words translates to the American English or post-1974 British English word billion (10 9 in the short scale). The term billion originally meant 10 12 when introduced. [5] In long scale countries, milliard was defined to its current value of 10 9, leaving billion at its original 10 12 value and so on for the larger numbers. [5]
The American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller became the world's first confirmed U.S. dollar billionaire in 1916. [ 2 ] As of April 2024, [update] there are 2,781 billionaires worldwide, with a combined wealth of over US$14.2 trillion, up from US$12.2 trillion in 2023.
Many people have no direct experience of manipulating numbers this large, and many non-American readers may interpret billion as 10 12 (even if they are young enough to have been taught otherwise at school); moreover, usage of the "long" billion is standard in some non-English-speaking countries. For these reasons, defining the word may be ...