Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born on the 30th of July 1947, in the small village of Thal, Styria. His father Gustav served as the local police chief and joined the Nazi Party in 1938. The family lived under strict rules where disobedience meant physical punishment. Arnold recalled climbing into his parents' bed during thunderstorms to find comfort between them. He struggled with reading and later received a diagnosis of dyslexia. Money was scarce for the household until they purchased their first refrigerator. His father preferred his older son Meinhard over him. This favoritism stemmed from unfounded suspicions that Arnold was not biologically related to Gustav. The boy played soccer but switched to weight training after his coach took the team to a gym in 1960. At age 15 he began lifting weights seriously. By 1961 he met Kurt Marnul who invited him to train at a Graz gym. He broke into closed gyms on weekends because missing a workout made him sick.
Schwarzenegger won his first Mr. Universe title in 1967 at just twenty years old. He moved to London in 1966 to stay with Wag Bennett and his wife Dianne. They provided him a home above one of their two gyms in Forest Gate. The couple helped him improve his English while living in the East End. He trained at Gold's Gym in Venice, California after arriving in October 1968. His breakthrough film role came as Conan the Barbarian in 1982. The movie became a box office hit and launched his career as an action star. He followed this success with The Terminator released in 1984. That film is now considered his signature role. His movies have grossed over five point four billion dollars worldwide. He appeared in Commando in 1985 and Predator in 1987. Twins released in 1988 proved he could succeed in comedy without taking a salary. The film earned him his biggest paycheck ever exceeding forty million dollars from profits. He returned as the Terminator in 1991 for Terminator 2: Judgment Day which was the highest-grossing film that year.
Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy on the 6th of August 2003 during an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He won the recall election with forty-eight point six percent of the vote against Cruz Bustamante who received thirty-one percent. He defeated Gray Davis who had been removed by fifty-five point four percent of the Yes vote. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17 to serve the remainder of Davis' term. He won re-election in 2006 with fifty-six percent of the vote against Phil Angelides. He did not accept his governor's salary of one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars per year. His approval ratings started high at sixty-five percent but dropped to twenty-three percent before leaving office. He signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 into law on September 27. This created the nation's first cap on greenhouse gas emissions. In May 2010 he commuted the sentence of Esteban Núñez who killed Luis Santos. The decision caused a scandal and led to new laws requiring victim notification for future commutations. Critics named him one of eleven worst governors in April 2010 due to ethics issues.
Schwarzenegger became a millionaire by age twenty-five through real estate investments. He purchased an apartment building for ten thousand dollars as his first property investment. He and Franco Columbu started a bricklaying business in 1968 that flourished after the San Fernando earthquake. They rolled profits from that venture into a mail-order business selling fitness equipment. Schwarzenegger invested millions in holding companies across the United States and abroad. He bought a private Gulfstream jet for thirty-eight million dollars in June 1997. Forbes estimated his net worth reached one billion dollars in 2024. He owned Oak Productions Inc. which produced films. He also founded Arnold's Sports Festival starting in 1989 held annually in Columbus Ohio. The event hosts thousands of international health professionals. He partnered with LeBron James to establish Ladder nutritional supplements in 2018. That company sold to Openfit for an undisclosed amount after reporting four million dollars in sales for 2020. He opened Schatzi On Main restaurant in Santa Monica in 1992 before selling it six years later.
Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act on the 27th of September 2006 creating California's first emissions cap. The law required utilities and refineries to limit their atmospheric releases. He issued an executive order in 2005 calling for greenhouse gas reduction by eighty percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Another order signed the 17th of October 2006 allowed collaboration with the Northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Power plants exceeding credit limits had to purchase additional credits starting in 2009. He adapted a Hummer to run on hydrogen fuel at his home. Solar panels were installed to heat his residence. In 2011 he founded R20 Regions of Climate Action to develop sustainable economies. He joined French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 to call for a Global Pact for the Environment. Schwarzenegger launched the Austrian World Summit annually in Vienna beginning that same year. The summit brings together political leaders and business figures to identify climate solutions. He received the European Voice campaigner of the year award in 2007 for these actions.
Schwarzenegger met Barbara Outland in 1969 who became his first serious girlfriend. They shared an apartment in Santa Monica for three and a half years before splitting in 1974. He married Maria Shriver on the 26th of April 1986 in Hyannis Massachusetts. The couple had four children named Katherine Christina Patrick and Christopher born in Los Angeles. They lived in a Brentwood mansion with vacation homes in Sun Valley Idaho. Shriver moved out on the 9th of May 2011 ending their twenty-five-year marriage. A jury ruled in June 2022 that she was entitled to half of post-divorce savings earned from 1986 to 2011. In May 2011 the Los Angeles Times revealed he fathered a son Joseph with employee Mildred Patricia Baena over fourteen years earlier. Allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced during his 2003 gubernatorial campaign involving six women. Schwarzenegger admitted behaving badly sometimes but claimed many stories were untrue. Anna Richardson settled a libel lawsuit against him in August 2006 regarding one allegation. He finalized his divorce from Shriver in 2021 after ten years of separation.
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Common questions
When was Arnold Schwarzenegger born and where?
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born on the 30th of July 1947, in the small village of Thal, Styria. His father Gustav served as the local police chief and joined the Nazi Party in 1938.
What were the major film roles that defined Arnold Schwarzeneggers career?
Schwarzenegger won his first Mr. Universe title in 1967 at just twenty years old before achieving a breakthrough role as Conan the Barbarian in 1982. He followed this success with The Terminator released in 1984 which is now considered his signature role. His movies have grossed over five point four billion dollars worldwide including Commando in 1985 and Predator in 1987.
How did Arnold Schwarzenegger win the California governor election in 2003?
Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy on the 6th of August 2003 during an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He won the recall election with forty-eight point six percent of the vote against Cruz Bustamante who received thirty-one percent. He defeated Gray Davis who had been removed by fifty-five point four percent of the Yes vote and was sworn in on November 17 to serve the remainder of Davis term.
When did Arnold Schwarzenegger sign the Global Warming Solutions Act into law?
Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 into law on September 27. This created the nation's first cap on greenhouse gas emissions requiring utilities and refineries to limit their atmospheric releases. He issued an executive order in 2005 calling for greenhouse gas reduction by eighty percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
Who is Arnold Schwarzeneggers wife and when did they divorce?
He married Maria Shriver on the 26th of April 1986 in Hyannis Massachusetts and the couple had four children named Katherine Christina Patrick and Christopher born in Los Angeles. Shriver moved out on the 9th of May 2011 ending their twenty-five-year marriage and he finalized his divorce from Shriver in 2021 after ten years of separation.