How Arnold Schwarzenegger Became A Billionaire

Arnold Schwarzenegger has played many roles in his 76 years. Bodybuilder, box office star, bureaucrat, and now billionaire. Schwarzenegger was born into a poor family in the tiny Austrian village of Tall, where he later discovered his father had been a member of the Nazi party. The Terminator and Kindergarten Cop star went on to use his muscles and charm to be crowned Mr. Universe four times, then conquer Hollywood and win California's top political office. Along the way, he has spun his fame into fortune. The 76-year-old star is now worth more than $1 billion according to Forbes estimates. Schwarzenegger initially struggled to secure acting roles because of his thick accent. But between 1970 and 2019, he churned out around 50 films, which made $5.5 billion at the box office. He was early to negotiate a cut of sales. For his blockbuster 1988 comedy Twins, Schwarzenegger pocketed nearly 20% of gross receipts, or about $35 million. In all, Schwarzenegger made about $500 million in paychecks and profit-sharing deals from his movies. By his own estimate, he gave up another $200 million in Hollywood income to serve as California's governor from 2003 to 2011. From the outset, Schwarzenegger put his cash to work. Soon after arriving in California, he used his bodybuilding earnings to buy up apartment buildings in Santa Monica. He claims he was a millionaire before getting any major movie roles in the 1970s. As the founding client of celebrity investment firm Main Street Advisors, he also pumped money into private equity and stocks, including shares of Starbucks and Google. 28 years ago, he picked up just under 5% of privately held Dimensional Fund Advisors, the now-giant $718 billion investment firm. But not all of his investments have been winners. In 1991, he teamed up with Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone to invest in Planet Hollywood. The themed restaurant chain peaked at a valuation of more than $3 billion in 1996, only to end up in bankruptcy three years later. He also had a costly divorce in 2021 from former newscaster and Kennedy family member Maria Shriver. R-Math assumes the pair didn't have a prenup and split their assets 50-50. Had they drawn up a premarital agreement, Schwarzenegger might be worth nearly double his current fortune.