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 reportedly made $75,000 for The Terminator.
After he found his financial footing in real estate, Schwarzenegger began to turn his attention to finding fame as well.
He landed his first acting role in 1970 with Hercules in New York. His fame really began to grow with the 1977 documentary, Pumping Iron, and truly solidified with the 1984 classic, The Terminator. For that role, Schwarzenegger was reportedly paid just $75,000. To date, the film has made more than $100 million worldwide, when adjusted for inflation.
Don't worry, 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.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's net worth is an estimated $400 million.
These days, Schwarzenegger spends most of his time riding his bike around Venice Beach, California, and spending time at his beloved Gold's Gym. And really, he doesn't have to do much else, considering BankRate puts his net worth at $400 million.
That's not to say he's off the big screen forever. He'll reportedly be returning to film for Triplets, the sequel to his beloved movie Twins alongside costar Danny DeVito and Eddie Murphy. Schwarzenegger has also revealed that he's currently filming a Terminator revival slated for November 2019.
