Originally launched in 1980 as Penny Power, (that name was discarded in the '90s because "penny" suggested kids' money was of little value), Zillions reflected the volume of decisions that kids had to make both in its name and scope. Zillions covered how marketing and advertising work, the ways kids could earn and save money, and discussed alternatives to spending.

Dorothy Parker once told an interviewer that if she had to choose between being a good writer, and having money, she'd rather have money.