How Did Arnold Schwarzenegger Make His First Million

How did Arnold Schwarzenegger make his first million?

Mr. Olympia prize money? Nope.

Hollywood paychecks? Nope - Guess again

Endorsement deals? Strike three.

Arnold's excelled in many different careers - from bodybuilding to blockbusters to politics. But he's always been an entrepreneur, first and foremost.

When he arrived in America in his early twenties, with almost $30,000 saved from his iron-pumping victories, he had a business on his mind.

So how did the "Terminator" became a millionaire by age 25?

Real Estate Investing

Arnold was shocked with the number of Americans who rented rather than owned.

In his homeland of Austria, it was typical to live with the family or find some comparable arrangement until you could afford to buy a property.

He put his savings towards the downpayment on an apartment building. A year later, he sold it for $150,000 profit.

Here's why he was really smart:

Arnold took those profits and quickly re-invested them into another property. Had he just pocketed the profits and waited, the taxmen would have gobbled up a big cut.

Instead he re-invested, over and over, and watched his networth skyrocket.

This was years before he became one of the most bank-able stars in movie history.

In fact, had he jumped into the Hollywood pressure cooker without a real estate fortune behind him, he may have had to settle for small parts and mediocre roles that could have derailed his acting career.

(Now that's a scary thought.....no Terminator?)

Like a true businessman, Arnold never stopped investing. Today he has massive stakes in premium properties throughout America - especially in his adopted home state, California.

Now I must say, I find Arnold's personal choices to be rather questionable, but if we separate his personal life from his business life, it's been impressive to see his real estate track record as an investor.

Having said that, there's no mystery to his real estate strategy - they are techniques we all know are repeatable.

In any market.

In any economic climate.