The Surprising Way Arnold Schwarzenegger Made His First Million
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a man among boys—and not just in the gym. The body builder-turned-actor-turned-politician has made a pretty penny over his lifetime, and in his more than 50 years in the sports, entertainment, and political arenas, he's made enough money to buy all the choppers he wants.
And 72-year-old Schwarzenegger is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, as you can catch him in the upcoming movie Terminator: Dark Fate.
Moreover, the Governator has been rich for a very long time. According to Town & Country, he made his first million way back in 1968. Here's how much he's made since then, and here's everything we know about Arnold Schwarzenegger's net worth.
How did Arnold Schwarzenegger make his first million?
The fitness god had some rather humble beginnings. He was born in the Austrian village of Thal, where his father worked as the chief of police. As a kid, Schwarzenegger began working out at the local gym. In 1965, at the tender age of 18, he won the Junior Mr. Europe Contest. At 20, he took home the prize for Mr. Universe.
The next year, in 1968, Schwarzenegger headed to America with just $27,000 to his name, according to Town & Country. Within a year, he made a cool $1 million thanks to some smart real estate investments, CNBC reported.
"Buildings that I would buy for $500,000 within the year were $800,000 and I put only maybe $100,000 down, so you made 300 percent on your money," Schwarzenegger told Tim Ferriss in Tools of Titans.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's net worth is an estimated $400 million.
Schwarzenegger's net worth is a result of his movies and his real estate investments. In 1984, Schwarzenegger starred in what many consider to be his most popular role ever, The Terminator. For that movie, Schwarzenegger was reportedly paid just $75,000. To date, the film has made more than $100 million worldwide, when adjusted for inflation.
The studio made up for it in 2003, when they paid Schwarzenegger $30 million to appear in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. That equates to him earning $4,000 per second of screen time, according to BankRate.
However, Schwarzenegger's most profitable film is actually 1988's Twins, which he starred in with Danny DeVito. For that movie, Schwarzenegger, DeVito, and director Ivan Reitman all agreed to take zero salary from the studio in exchange for owning 40% of the film, or about 13.33% each.
The movie was a hit, and it and went on to earn more than $215 million worldwide. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Schwarzenegger claimed that he earned more from Twins than any of his other movie throughout his career.
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