Ramsey Solutions recently published its largest study of American millionaires ever. The National Study of Millionaires surveyed more than 10,000 millionaires and shared some pretty interesting takeaways. For instance, it says most respondents went to public and state schools, and most follow a pre-written list when grocery shopping. Overall, the study stressed “humble discipline” as the main path to personal wealth. Among the points were the top 10 vehicle brands millionaires drive.

Dave Ramsey is known for his car payment rants and often reminds followers that most millionaires drive paid-off used vehicles. The study seems to agree.

The top 10 car brands driven by millionaires are:

After working in a shop full-time for most of my young adulthood, I can agree with the list. Most of my wealthy customers drove Toyota, Honda, Ford, Lexus, Acura, and Hyundai models.

Hyundai is actually ower on the list than I’d expect, while Subaru is higher. Hyundai started offering its appealing 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty to drivers during my time at the shop, and I saw many customers make the switch. Used Subarus, though, were often in for expensive coolant and oil leaks, particularly due to cylinder head gasket breaches.

Buicks and Lincolns were more popular with, er, “older” folks, but they were indeed financially stable and expressed both a desire and the ability to maintain their cars properly.

BMW is near the middle of the pack. This also makes sense to me. BMWs come with a decent amount of reliability and maintenance risk. However, used Beemers are fairly cheap and can be paid for in cash if you find the right deal. BMW sedans with a bit of age are a way to express style and have a bit of fun without going very far into the ultra-pricey sports car zone. For the nameplate to be in the lower half of the group – number six – sounds right.

Ford, Honda, and Toyota taking the lead is completely expected. The Ford F-150 is one of the best-selling vehicles in the world. Ford customers, of course, often label themselves as “driving American.” Honda and Toyota have long boasted excellent reliability ratings.

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The National Study of Millionaires

The National Study of Millionaires says that 79% of the millionaires surveyed did not receive any inheritance funds. In his social media post about the most common car brands driven by millionaires, Dave Ramsey stated that 69% of them never averaged $100,000 of household income.

The study doesn’t state the average age of the folks surveyed, which would be helpful. Some social media followers suggest that the respondents are all Baby Boomers.

Of course, in 2024, achieving financial stability will be even more challenging for millennials, and we’re apparently the first American generation to expect a lower quality of life than the generation before us. That goes for both health and financial stability.

Regardless of your age, the list of top 10 cars driven by millionaires might serve you in some regard. If you’re driving some brand-new behemoth with a huge car payment that has you losing sleep at night, you might reconsider.