A Businessman
One perhaps lesser-known part of Schwarzenegger’s life is that he was already a relatively successful businessman before his celebrity took off. He started a bricklaying business in 1968 in California at just twenty-one years old. Curiously enough, he went into business with fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbo, and his company became essential after the San Fernando earthquake in 1971
The natural disaster resulted in damages in the construction and real estate world at $500 million. That’s a lot of damage! Columbo and Schwarzenegger carried on working together in the construction industry for years to come and their friendship only grew stronger as the years went by.
Mr. Universe
After training with some of the bodybuilding world champions, Schwarzenegger was finally crowned the winner of the Mr. Universe competition in 1967, at just 20 years old. In fact, he became the youngest person ever to win! And one victory was certainly not enough for him as he went on to win three more times.
Schwarzenegger then moved to Munich, Germany, and enrolled in business school. He then began to diversify his interests, sharing with his English coach at the time: “I’m going to become the greatest actor!” It was only about seven years after this dream, that his acting dream came true when he got his first role in “Happy Anniversary and Goodbye.”
Coming To America
In 1966, Schwarzenegger moved to London, where he finally won his first Mr. Universe title at 20 in 1967. “The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America — the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich.”
The following year he decided to head to the U.S. and was thrilled that he “overcame a thick Austrian accent and transcended the unlikely background of bodybuilding to become the biggest movie star in the world in the 1990s,” said "LA Weekly." Arnold finally became a naturalized American citizen in 1983. We guess that this stands as a testament that dreams do come true!
Sudden Tragedy
As he reveled in his success acheiving his Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia titles in the U.S., tragedy struck close to home for Schwarzenegger. Arnold’s brother, Meinhard, was killed in a traffic accident in 1971 while driving under the influence. And just a year and a half later, his father also passed. Arnold did not attend either one of their funerals.
Although he was on good terms with Meinhard, he reportedly wanted to avoid seeing his father, with whom he had a strained relationship. A while after this, Arnold was able to help his nephew, Patrick, come to America. Schwarzenegger ended up opening a lot of doors for him.
Patrick M. Knapp Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s nephew, Patrick, was primarily raised by his mother and grandparents in Munich, Germany. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006 but retained his Austrian citizenship like his now-famous uncle. In 1991 Knapp Schwarzenegger graduated from UCLA with a degree in Economics and Political Science.
Today, Patrick is a lawyer with decades of experience. He was Arnold’s advisor while he was the host of "The New Celebrity Apprentice," alongside Tyra Banks, Warren Buffet, and others. Despite the fact that he is a businessman/lawyer, he has also dipped his toes in Hollywood as he has been involved in the filmmaking process of two productions.