private means (uncountable)
- A reasonable degree of wealth.
He was a well-travelled man of private means.
1950 July, “The Historian of the G.W.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 433:We believe that in early life he intended to take up a railway career, but he never did, and lived on his private means, devoting his studies to historical matters, principally in connection with Somerset.
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see private, means.
- Usually used to indicate that a person has the ability to fund themselves in their endeavours.