From bodybuilding to Hollywood, Arnold Schwarzenegger has built one of the most bankable careers in entertainment history. His first breakthrough in Hollywood came in 1970 with the movie Hercules in New York. Decades later, let's find out how much fortune he made from acting.

Arriving in Hollywood with a thick Austrian accent, according to media reports, Schwarzenegger is now estimated to be worth around $1.2 billion. His Hollywood career accounts for a large part of his overall wealth.

As reported by TheStreet, the first Terminator movie earned him $75,000 in salary in 1984. Schwarzenegger has appeared in over 51 films.

As reported by Forbes, the Hollywood star eventually earned roughly $500 million before taxes through movie salaries and profit-sharing deals. That figure places him among the highest-paid actors in the business.

It all started during the 1980s with action classics such as The Terminator, Predator, and Total Recall, before exploding into full-scale superstardom in the 1990s. In his prime Hollywood years, Schwarzenegger was reportedly charging between $20 million and $30 million per film.

One of Schwarzenegger’s most lucrative decisions was the 1988 hit comedy Twins, alongside Danny DeVito. Instead of taking a traditional salary, Schwarzenegger decided to take a backend profit-sharing deal.

“It was Twins because we had gotten no money, no salary,” Schwarzenegger shared about his highest-paying film.

Andy Cohen interjected, “You got a piece of the backend.” Schwarzenegger added, “Exactly. And it was fantastic. We went all the way to the bank with that one.”

The film generated his career's single biggest payday. In many of his later interviews, he suggested he made well over $40 million from the movie alone.

From his start in 1970 to his latest project in 2019, Schwarzenegger starred in more than 50 films that collectively grossed approximately $5.5 billion globally.

While his earnings from his acting career hold a major part of his net worth, he had already accumulated significant wealth before beginning his on-camera career.

Beyond Hollywood, Where Did Schwarzenegger Build His Wealth?

Long before he ruled the big screen with his charm and charisma, Schwarzenegger was already a millionaire through investing in Los Angeles real estate during the 1970s.

“I did not rely on my movie career to make a living,” Schwarzenegger told author Tim Ferriss in Tools of Titans.

When he saw his peers struggle financially because they were dependent on a source of income, the True Lies star decided not to be among them. So, he started investing in real estate and bought his first building.

“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," he said. "I became a millionaire from my real estate investments.”

He eventually owned several apartment buildings, which evolved into a massive property portfolio. Schwarzenegger also expanded his business into production houses, fitness, publishing ventures, and branding deals.

Schwarzenegger earned millions through some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. Which of his performances stands out most to you?

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar