How Arnold Schwarzenegger became a billionaire through ‘incredible investments’ and key advice from Warren Buffet

Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the most recognisable film stars of all time, having starred in major blockbuster films across multiple decades.

Whether it be The Terminator, Predator, or The Expendables, the former California Governor is a face that many will associate with blockbuster royalty.

With the newest season of his Netflix series, Fubar, seeing him share the screen with Monica Barbaro, there is sure to be renewed interest in how Arnie got himself to the position he is in today.

What many may not know however is that the titular Terminator is actually just as successful as a shrewd businessman – and Schwarzenegger is, in actual fact, a billionaire as a direct result of his investments.

This includes a series of savvy investments in major companies as well as following key advice given to him by Warren Buffet, arguably the best-known investor in the world.

From blockbuster star to billionaire investor

Arnold Schwarzenegger is perhaps best known for The Terminator (Sunset Boulevard via Getty Images)

Arnie was a strongman prior to his first film role in Hercules in New York, but would later rake in money from starring in the Terminator films and monetising his fame to promote fitness magazines.

Now, however, he is worth $1.4 billion and ranks behind only Tyler Perry in actors, though Perry made more of his money from producing.

Forbes estimates that Schwarzenegger has made roughly $500 million of his riches from the entertainment industry, utilising clever deals.

One example that shows his business acumen is the actor foregoing an up-front fee for his film Twins when studios weren’t convinced, taking 20 per cent of the gross sales instead.

This paid off big time and he ended up earning $35 million from the move, and this savvy mind for it carried over to his business investments, too.

Warren Buffet’s advice and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s investments

Arnie and Buffet, who was his economic advisor when he ran to be Governor of California (Gold Wong via Getty Images)

Buffet acted as one of Arnie’s investing mentors, and he stated that he followed one of the key rules that Buffet uses for his own investment.

Speaking to The New York Times in 2021, he said: “I am like Warren Buffett. I don’t invest in things I don’t understand.”

He used this reasoning to not invest in crypto or Bitcoin, instead focusing on brands he knew.

The actor was an investor in Starbucks in the 1990s, an early investor in Google in 1999, and has stocks in Beyond Meat and AMC, according to Forbes.

A more boring purchase he made saw him make a minority investment in Dimensional Fund Advisors, initially buying 5 per cent of the shares in the company for an undisclosed amount.

The company has grown massively, and this stake is now responsible for $500 million of his $1.4 billion empire.