Arnold Schwarzenegger Net Worth: Here’s How He Became A Millionaire

Arnold Schwarzenegger net worth is $300 million. He is one of the richest actors in America. There are very few people in show business who are as wealthy as Arnold. However, it is interesting to note that it was not his acting career that made him a millionaire. In fact, he did not rely much on his acting career to make money. He realized pretty early in his life that acting would be quite uncertain as a career option. He trusted his business sense to earn money somewhere else.

Arnold opened up to author Tim Ferriss in his book “Tools of Titans.” He said he never trusted his acting career to make a living. And, he learned it from the people he met in his acting classes and from those who worked with him in the gym during his bodybuilding days. He learned from their financial situation and decided that he would not like to be in their position. They had to accept whatever they were offered. They practically had no other choice but to accept it.

Acting had a lot to do with Arnold Schwarzenegger net worth, which grew up to be enormous over the years. But, it was real estate that made him a millionaire. Interestingly, one of the most successful Hollywood actors in history did not earn his first million from acting. According to his own confessions, the Austrian-American took advantage of the “magic decade” in the 70s to earn bigger than his bodybuilding colleagues.

The First Million

Arnold invested the money he earned from bodybuilding in real estate. The kind of money he made through bodybuilding was not small anyway, since he was a huge name in bodybuilding before his acting career could flourish. He won seven Mr. Olympia and five Mr. Universe titles. He was smart enough to invest the money in real estate. He bought buildings for $500K and, within a year, the rate went as high as $800K. “I put only maybe $100K down, so you made 300% on your money,” he said. “I quickly developed and traded up my buildings and bought more apartment buildings and office buildings on Main Street down in Santa Monica and so on.”

“I became a millionaire from my real estate investments.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger net worth did not become $300 million overnight. Maybe the secret behind his success was to start early. Not everyone becomes a millionaire before turning 22.

Acting Career

Arnold started small in his film career. Even though producers were impressed with his body, they did not like his Austrian last name. He became Arnold Strong in his first few films, only to get back to become a Schwarzenegger again in 1976 for Stay Hungry. His first big film was Conan the Barbarian, which added $250,000 to his wealth, according to The Richest. The first Terminator film was smaller. He earned $75,000 from that film. But, the sequel added $15 million to his net worth. He had a successful year in 1996, when he had Jingle All The Way and Eraser. Arnold earned $20 million each from these two films. He earned $25 million each from Batman and Robin, End of Days and The 6th Day. In his 2003 film Terminator 3, he earned $30 million.

Governor of California

Arnold Schwarzenegger net worth was further strengthened during 2003-2011, when he served as the Governor of California. His annual salary was $175,000.

Expenses

Arnold earns big and spends big as well. He bought a 14,500 square-foot Brentwood mansion on a hilltop for $11.9 million. The property is now worth $23 million. In 2014, he bought a Gulfstream III private jet for $38 million.

[Featured image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]