Financially that is true, but there are other factors at play. When I was in my 30s I hit a big payday and paid off my house note - against the advice of CPA for exactly the reasons you mention. I was paying 4% interest and earning ~10%.

However, paying off the house afforded me something else: Complete freedom. I had no car notes, no house note. I only had to worry about food + electricity (both very minor expenses). I already very ample savings...so all in all it meant I was basically "retired". That is, I had complete freedom in what projects to choose to work on and which I didnt care for.

The result was, in the long run, I made much more money then I otherwise would've. I could turn down the "safe time-suck projects that made reliable income" and instead focus on longer term projects that may return nothing or might return a big hit. It was ok if I went 5 months with little to no income, because I had little to no expenses.

As a result, I wound getting involved getting an equity stake in a business that otherwise I wouldn't be able to do. That equity stake has continued to pay me for the last 20 years a monthly dividend.