You missed the even more the important/hypocritical part of the quote: "... To this day, at least twice a year, I am broke because I always invest my surpluses

You missed the even more the important/hypocritical part of the quote: "... To this day, at least twice a year, I am broke because I always invest my surpluses into ventures I cannot access." I assume this is just poor reporting. He misses a massive thing about the 401K.. companies may match and It can lower your taxable income. If you are really wealthy this matters little but if you are that magical $250K putting money into a 401K is probably worthwhile. But in general I sort of agree that the 401K is massively overrated. It is just a reminder of how messed up the tax codes are. IMO just make zero loophole flat tax percentage on income. No capital gains tax. Just a percentage tax on income. If someone tries hide income go after them hardcore. Owning rental property IMO (ie depreciable asset) in the right locations I found more effective than a 401K and many retirement accounts but I still have old 401Ks and even a Roth IRA on autopilot. The US embraces property ownership too much (tax deductions) which makes investing in other ventures less desirable (which probably hurts the country overall).