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How rich is Arnold Schwarzenegger?

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In the latest in our Celebrity Money series, where we examine how the rich and famous made their fortunes, we test the earning power of Hollywood superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger.

With divorce from his wife Maria Shriver pending, Arnold Schwarzenegger has new-found notoriety. Revelations have emerged that the actor-turned-politician had a lovechild with his housemaid - and that news has not only ruined his reptutation, but could impact on his earning power.

As a former state governor, Arnie has had to be a little more transparent with his finances, revealing his film earnings, his business interests and even his share holdings. So how much money has the Terminator actor pulled in, and how did he do it?

The Governator: When it was all smiles for Arnie

It's a story of muscle. Everything about Arnie has been pumped up, starting with his early career as a bodybuilder. He is the poor villager from Austria who expanded to become Mr Universe at the age of 20, then Mr Olympia, followed by an unlikely Hollywood acting superstar and finally Governor of California.

Over the years Schwarzenegger has kept his financial dealings out of the public eye. Most estimates put his worth at $200m-$400m (£127m-£254m). That puts him high in the rankings of US politicans (he was second only to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg) and American actors, but slim pickings considering $1bn is needed to enter the Forbes 400.

I won't be back: Arnold Schwarzenegger has separated from wife Maria Shriver

The Terminator star has a new battle on his hands now with wife Maria Shriver. Sbe has reportedly hired Hollywood's leading divorce lawyer Laura Wasser. What will Arnie be worth after it's all over?

For now, his earning power is in low-gear. A career in politics hasn't left 'The Governator' better off financially.

In fact, he once vociferously spoke out to the Austrian media saying his two terms in office had cost him an estimated $200m (£127m) in potential acting fees, while his salary as Governor would have been a mere $175,000 (£111,000) per year had he not waived it.

But at least he has finally been able to afford a fridge... Born in 1947 in Thal, Austria, to the village police chief, Arnie has said money was tight while he was growing up. He once said that the highlight of his youth was when his family managed to buy a refrigerator.

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That was all soon to change when Arnie hung up his football boots at the age of 15 after his football coach took his team to a gym for a workout, where he picked up his first-ever barbell.

Soon, Schwarzenegger saw bodybuilding as his route into acting and big money. In 1967 he became the youngest-ever winner of Mr Universe at the age of 20 and in 1968 he moved to the US to land his first acting role in the 1969 film 'Hercules in New York', which landed him $12,000.

His last major acting role in 2003's 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines' paid $30m (£19m).

What a barbarian: Arnie in the seminal Seventies film

In those early days his entrepreneurial skills were already emerging.

He started up a bricklaying business with bodybuilding partner Franco Columbu and used the profits from it to start a mail order business selling bodybuilding equipment. He later used his bodybuilding competition winnings to invest in his first real estate venture – an apartment building purchased for $10,000.

Schwarzenegger's principal financial stream has come from his film career. In running for Governor of California in 2003, he declared his sources of income and investments under Californian state laws, which require the filer to indicate only whether a holding is valued at $1m or more.

Tax returns filed later in his campaign showed that between 2000 and 2001 he earned $31m (£20m) and in the following year the same report indicated he earned $26m (£16m).

Here, though, is one bodybuilder who realised that brawn had to be matched by brain. The economics degree he earned in 1977 came into play when he ventured into the business world. The core of Schwarzenegger's business empire is Oak Productions, which produced 1993's 'The Last Action Hero', and he has similar stakes in entertainment and personal fitness companies.

Arnie has also a passion for real estate. He owns a stake in several property holding companies that own estates in Venice, California, and has a stake in a complex of office buildings, luxury homes, malls and Schatzi on Main – a celebrity restaurant that he founded in 1992 with wife Shriver, which he later leased out. He was also a founding partner in Planet Hollywood.

In 2003, his financial disclosure report showed that he had more than $100,000 worth of stocks in General Electric Co., Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Starbucks Coffee, Wal-Mart and Pfizer Inc. – the pharmaceutical company that sells Viagra.

Schwarzenegger also purchased two grand estates in west Los Angeles – one of which is an estate of three large homes on wooded acres - which he later put up for sale in 2003 for $16m (£10m). And In 2002, he bought a 12,000 sq ft seven-bedroom home on a hilltop with views of the Pacific Ocean, valued during that time at $11.9m (£7.5).

His political and acting career, and his ongoing interest in personal fitness, seem to have left little time for splashing the cash. But he did manage to buy himself a Gulfstream III private jet for $38m. And his transport of choice includes a Porsche 911 Carrera convertible, Mercedes SL600, El Dorado Biarritz convertible, 4 Hummer Humvees and Harley Davidson motorcycle.

What now for future income?

Since leaving office in January, Schwarzenegger has been working hard with comic book legend Stan Lee on an adaptation of his life for a cartoon and comic book series called (yep, you guessed it) 'The Governator'. However, his agent last week announced that the 63-year-old will postpone his Hollywood comeback because of the divorce controversy.

He was reportedly in talks of working on the next Terminator instalment and was also set to star in character drama 'Cry Macho', which would have netted him $12.5m. His website is currently frozen on a picture of Arnie playing chess with the quote 'Stay tuned for my next move'. Or should that be hasta la vista?

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