According to a Capgemini study this year, the number of millionaires in America grew by 500,000 to 7.43 million in 2023, as reported by CNBC. Their combined fortunes reached $26.1 trillion, an increase of 7% from 2022. While these millionaires have likely made plenty of wise decisions, they’ve also made their fair share of investing blunders.
If you want to build wealth, you’ll want to learn from the mistakes of others so that you don’t repeat the same ones.
Check Out: I’m a Financial Advisor: 4 Investing Rules My Millionaire Clients Never Break
Read More: I’m a Financial Advisor: 10 Most Awesome Things You Can Do for Your Finances in 2025
Here are four investing mistakes made by millionaire clients of two finance experts.
Also see two investing mistakes wealthy millennials are making.
“Many millionaires fall into the trap of believing they can time the market,” said Tyler Meyer, CFP, founder of Retire to Abundance. “Whether it stems from previous successes where high-risk bets paid off or the assumption that timing is the key to ongoing growth, this approach often backfires.”
Waiting for the ideal time to invest or allocate funds toward a specific asset can be extremely challenging. While one can get lucky with their timing when investing, you don’t want to consistently rely on trying to time when you buy and sell, as many unpredictable factors are involved.
As time has shown, trying to predict market movements is almost impossible, and it could lead to missed opportunities for the majority of investors. Anyone who has invested money understands that there are certain assumed risks. While we all want to see our funds grow, mistakes will happen in the investing journey as we attempt to maximize returns.
This is one mistake that millionaires often regret because nobody has a crystal ball into the future.
Consider This: Suze Orman: 3 Biggest Mistakes You Can Make as an Investor
Millionaire clients can sometimes forget they have access to professional advice that will guide them when dealing with a stressful situation. “One advantage of reaching a certain level of wealth is the ability to afford services that were once out of reach, including professional financial advice,” Meyer said.
These clients can also sometimes feel like they don’t need professional advice because they’ve experienced a certain degree of success on their own. It’s worth pointing out that just because someone makes money in one venture doesn’t mean they’re qualified for every other financial topic. For example, a financial professional can help you figure out how to invest your profits, optimize your tax planning and build a profitable portfolio. This can be especially helpful if you’ve built wealth through real estate or another strategy outside of the stock market.
