Best Investment Books for Building Wealth (2023) - The STRIVE (2024)

Are you looking to build lasting wealth for yourself? If so, this list of the absolute best investment books will help you become a great investor.

Of course no one is born a great investor, but the good news is, that anyone can become one. To be a great investor, you first have to understand how the markets work, and that requires a bit of homework and a dash of trial and error.

Hopefully you’ll agree with me, that it is best to do one’s homework before jumping into anything. The same goes for investing. The more you learn about the craft, the less mistakes you’ll make during your test-runs. And less mistakes means you get to keep more of your hard earned money.

So, we’ve pulled together a list of must-read investment books to get you up to speed and feeling confident enough to dive into the financial or real estate markets.

These investment books are packed with valuable trading insights, so they’ll be worth reading before you make your very first investment. Use the solid investing information within each and allow them to inspire confidence in you as seek to successfully invest your next dollar.

So, without further ado, here are the best investment books to consider adding to your reading list today. Enjoy.

BEST INVESTMENT BOOKS OF ALL-TIME

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1. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing

Through his book, Jack Bogle, suggests to his readers to invest in market indexes by keeping the cost low. As the name implies, the book throws light on little things regarding investing.

He uses John C. Bogle, the legendary mutual fund veteran to teach his readers how index investing can actually work for you. He says successful investing certainly requires patience and discipline but a common quality above all is having common sense.

2. The Intelligent Investor

This book by Benjamin Graham is a go-to and classic must-read book on investing. In fact, one could say that this book is one of the most influential investing books of all time. Not because everyone is reading it, but rather because it has helped make one of the world’s richest men, well, so rich.

So, if you are in need of some solid investment fundamentals related to value investing, and you are interested in the investment philosophy that has helped people like Warren Buffet do so well, then this book is a must read.

3. How to Make Money in Stocks

Written by William O’Neil, this book describes the CANSILM system. It helps you identify wins in the stock market, entry, and exit points. It is a mix of technical and fundamental analysis which newbie investors will find very valuable.

4. Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist

If you are a fan of Warren Buffett, this is a must-read. The insights he has shared are quite valuable for investors who have the patience to learn them. When applied correctly, the rewards are extremely fruitful.

Plus, you can hardly go wrong learning more about one of the most successful investors of all-time and his investment strategies.

5. One Up On Wall Street

This is another book of hope for investors. Author Peter Lynch explains how Wall Street is unable to find favorable investing opportunities.

Lynch tells how an average investor can beat the market professionals by using the knowledge he has in his hands. He says, by paying attention to the best services, one can discover favorable companies even before the professional analysts.

6. Small Giants

This investment book talks about the great Maverick companies. It explains how they started small and achieved so much success.

The author takes the readers on the journey of 14 companies that chose to march to the beat of their own drummer. It is one of the investment books that every entrepreneur and future investor must read.

7. Think and Grow Rich

Witten by Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich talks about the secrets of the big men that made them rich. It is a book about personal development and yes, it is not directly related to investing. However, it still makes the list of must-read investment books and is still worth reading since investing also requires one to have some specific personality traits and a money mindset.

Truly, if you mind is not right, it will be hard to see big money come in sight. So, get this book and acquire the type of thinking that will help lead you to successful living and successful investing.

8. The Elements of Investing

Written by Burton Malkiel and Charles Ellis, this investment book is packed with investment advice that comes from the experience of these two individuals. It also explains how an investor can control two of the biggest emotions – fear and greed. It is a guide to disciplined investing.

9. When Genius Failed

If you have learned anything from investing, one of the greatest lessons is to be prepared for failure. What can be a better way of doing than studying the failures of others? This book talks about the failure of big names. It captures emotions such as arrogance, greed, and aggression that lead to the collapse of the firm “Long Term Capital Management.”

10. Millionaire Teacher

This book is the story of a school teacher who manages to create a million dollar portfolio. He was able to become rich through low-cost index funds. The author also explains that crashes in the stock market are actually healthy. By spending just a few more hours, anyone can beat the professionals in the market.

11. Beating the Street

This is another great book by Peter Lynch. It throws light on long-term investment opportunities. The book also explains how to pick the right stocks. You will be getting expert advice from the top money manager in the world himself. He teaches how to invest in what you know.

If you want to know how to develop a winning investment strategy, this book will give you the answers. The language used is quite simple even for newbies to understand.

12. How to Trade for a Living

Investing can be a passive activity or it can be an highly involved activity. In fact, there are many people who have decided to jump in and try their hand at trading full-time.

Obviously, to do so is no easy undertaking, but, if you are interested enought in investing and the type of lifestyle it could bring you once you’ve mastered day trading, then this book is one you should definitely read.

13. Distressed Debt Analysis

Written by Stephen Moyer, this book is a standard in the distressed investment community. The author explains the process of distressed investing in a practical way by providing concrete examples all the way through.

No, it is not your average investment book, but, it can give you unique insights to the investment world that can eventually come in handy. Because really, some of the best investments money can buy are investments that are distressed. This book will show you were to look so you can find them.

14. You Can Be a Stock Market Genius

Do you know lots of people used this book for making a fortune? It is full of case studies, tools, and valuable information to become a successful investor.

The author throws light on the uncharted areas and rare investments like spin-offs, recapitalization, M&A, etc. It’s a must read if you are looking for valuable investing insights.

15. Zero to One

This book is written by Peter Theil who is an entrepreneur and an investor. It shows the reader how you can find singular ways and create something new from them. In case you didn’t know, Theil the co-founder of PayPal and he is among the earliest investors of Facebook. He encourages his readers to find value in places they least expect to find anything.

And this is why this book has made the list. Because it will give you better insights into which companies are actually creating something of value, something worth investing into.

16. The Psychology of Money

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel is a great book to add to your collection of investment books because of its in depth analysis of the behavioral psychology behind money.

Most investment books talk money and data, but this one puts the emphasis on how some of the best investors and money managers thought about money. The short stories and unique analyst will help you’ll walk away with a better sense of how to use think about money and put it to it’s best use for your particular situation.

17. Rich Dad Poor Dad

Rich Dad Poor Dad is probably the #1 top selling personal finance book of all-time. It’s not a technical investment book, but it does provide many overarching investment concepts that are not only helpful for novice investors, but can provide experienced investors with good investment insights, especially around cashflow.

That said, it’s an investment book that should certainly be read by everyone at least once.

18. Rental Property Investing

Investing in Real Estate, particularly via rental property investing is an extremely powerful approach to growing your money. And if you’re looking for a comprehensive guide to help you jump into the property rental game, then Turner’s ‘Rental Property Investing’ book is a must-read.

You’ll get time-tested strategies to help you analyze high potential properties, coordinate financing, and learn the safest, yet quickest path to high returns on your money using real estate.

19. The Simple Path to Wealth

The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins is not your typical investment book. However, it comes highly recommended for building wealth because it’s was reading for the reading who is tired of reading boring books about stocks and investing.

The book grew out of Collins blog, and due to the strong interest in his stories and easy-to-digest financial advice, he decided publish this book. The book has been well-received and is a must read book for all investors, regardless of where they are at in the arch of their investment journey.

20. Baby Steps Millionaires

Dave Ramsey is one of the most recognized names when it comes to money management and getting your financial house in order. And in Baby Steps Millionaires, he outlines exactly how he invests his money to build his own financial fortress.

But most importantly, he provides many inspiring investing and wealth-building stories that have the potential to get the most risk-adverse person off the fence and into the markets. That said, it’s a great book to help you believe that you can become a millionaire, and nudge you into taking the investment steps you’ll need to take to become one yourself.

Bonus Investment Book

Alright, here is one last recommendation. It is listed as a bonus because of it’s increased popularity over the years. Aka, it’s an investment book you should certainly invest in. This book is a bit different than the others, in that it offers up a good dose of contrarian strategies.

So, if you’re looking to mix things up with your approach to investing, and you want some effective investment advice that is slightly counterintuitive, then you’ll enjoy this book.

Related: Get Rich With a Normal Job

Final Thoughts on These Must-Read Investment Books

There you have it. Some of the best investment books to help you leverage each dollar you invest from this day forward. Remember, reading books is a form of knowledge acquisition that will help you make informed decisions when investing, it will help you diversify your knowledge, give you historical context, and ultimately lead you to making fewer investment mistakes.

Now, you don’t have to go reading all 20+ of these books on wealth and investing at once before you get started on your investing journey, but reading a few before you do will undoubtedly set you up for better returns on your investments.

Having said that, here are some final parting words from the Oracle of Omaha….

So, grab a book or two, learn something new, and then get started on your road to riches through investing.

Till you reach your aims,

STRIVE

PS – If you enjoyed this collection of the best investment books, then we have a hunch you’ll enjoy checking out these must-read money mindset books.