Few people know that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the second richest actor in America, before becoming famous in the 1970s, was an “underground tycoon” thanks to his burning passion besides gym, which is collecting land.
The name Arnold Schwarzenegger is extremely famous in the film industry with his lifetime role in the movie “Terminator 1-2”. However, few people know that this 76-year-old actor is also a billionaire thanks to following Warren Buffett’s advice, which is to collect land.
This Hollywood actor met the legendary investor in the late 1990s when Buffett was invited to be an economic advisor to Schwarzenegger’s election campaign, and he immediately realized that this was the financial teacher he needed. arrive.
“He is the greatest investor of all time,” said Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Arnold Schwarzenegger idolizes Warren Buffett in investing
Even in a 2021 interview with the New York Times (NYT), Schwarzenegger frankly admitted that it was because of Buffett that he never touched Bitcoin or cryptocurrency.
“I’m like Warren Buffett. I don’t invest in things I don’t understand,” Schwarzenegger admitted.
Instead, this legendary actor bought shares of famous brands in the US, such as Starbucks in the 1990s and still holds them to this day. He was also one of Google’s investors in 1999 and has continued to buy shares of this Big Tech recently.
In addition, names like Beyond Meat, AMC or YES Network also appear on the list.
Now with a fortune of $1 billion according to Forbes’ estimates, this former “gym-goer” actor can sit back and reminisce about his life escaping poverty.
Currently, this superstar is the 2nd richest celebrity according to Forbes rankings. However, unlike the leader, actor Tyler Perry, who has a fortune of $1.4 billion, Schwarzenegger’s path to wealth follows a special direction that almost no one has.
The poor boy likes to go to the gym
Billionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger was born into a poor family in a small Austrian village, where the total local population was only about 2,500 people.
Then, when he entered the professional gym and moved to America in 1968, Arnold Schwarzenegger never thought that he would get involved in cinema or become a billionaire in the future.
The English accent mixed with the local dialect seems to make it difficult for Arnold Schwarzenegger to shine, but thanks to his success in bodybuilding, this Austrian actor has acted in up to 50 films with a total box office revenue of up to 5.5 billion USD.
Thanks to these films, Arnold Schwarzenegger pocketed about 500 million USD, thereby creating a foundation for his future career in investing.
In fact, the Austrian actor made a huge investment in 1988 when he shouldered 20% of the production costs of the comedy “Twins”.
The studio at that time was quite hesitant about this project, so Arnold Schwarzenegger, as the main actor, offered to invest.
As a result, the film was successful with a total box office revenue of more than 215 million USD, making him earn more than 35 million USD in pocket money, much higher than the amount of money that Arnold Schwarzenegger initially invested.
“This is an investment deal that the studio will never dare to repeat again,” Arnold Schwarzenegger said with a laugh, implying that the producer regretted missing out on profits.
Besides, Arnold Schwarzenegger also earns money from advertising and being the face of brands.
However, after deducting taxes and expenses for brokers and lawyers… this actor has only earned about 170 million USD over the years in this field.
Even when running for Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger spent another $200 million campaigning between 2003 and 2011.
Obviously, just being an actor and doing commercials is not enough to make Arnold Schwarzenegger a billionaire.
Passionate about real estate
Ever since he moved to America in 1968 and despite his passion for gym training, Arnold Schwarzenegger also had another passion: collecting land.
Thanks to income from bodybuilding and other part-time jobs, Arnold Schwarzenegger has enough money to buy a number of apartments in Santa Monica.
In fact, before starring in hit movies in the 1970s, Arnold Schwarzenegger was already a millionaire thanks to owning many real estate properties.
After successfully making money from famous roles, this Austrian actor continued his formula by pouring money into commercial real estate and spreading to stocks in the style of Warren Buffett.
It was Arnold Schwarzenegger who bought, repaired, and then sold a huge real estate area in Santa Monica in 2006.
It was also he who bought the 812 Main St project for $12 million in the 1980s to then resold it for 3 times the price in 2013.
In addition, a series of famous real estate areas such as the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Beverly Hills or the Easton Town Center in Columbus also have Schwarzenegger’s investment.
He also owns a number of personal real estate properties with a total value of $40 million, including a winter ski villa in Sun Valley and another villa in Brentwood-California.
Not stopping at real estate, this actor also spent 130 million USD to buy a Boeing 747 aircraft to lease to Singapore Airlines.
In addition, this former Governor of California also owns many companies such as film studio Oak Pructions, publisher Fitness Publications Inc or personal brands such as Arnold Sports Festival.
To achieve this success, Arnold Schwarzenegger worked non-stop even at the age of 76. Coming from a bodybuilding background, the Austrian actor clearly understands the rules of discipline for success.
“I think he’s the busiest 76-year-old man in the world,” head of human resources Saniel Ketchell told Arnold Schwarzenegger with a laugh.
According to Mr. Ketchell, billionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger, although very rich and old, has undergone several heart surgeries, but still gets up at 5 a.m. with an extremely busy schedule.
Mr. Ketchell said it’s extremely common to video call at 6 a.m. or late Sunday night with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“Hard work and discipline. That’s who Arnold Schwarzenegger is,” said the famous Austrian actor’s former personal secretary Margita Thomson.
