Arnold Schwarzenegger’s empire did not start with a 6 pack; it started with a 6 plex! You’re about to discover how Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator, started his empire with a 6 unit apartment building. Even before Schwarzenegger became the godfather of modern bodybuilding, before he became a mega movie star, or even before he was the governor of California, he was a beginning commercial real estate investor. The foundation of Arnold’s success was not his 6 pack abs. The foundation of his success was a 6-plex apartment building he purchased in Santa Monica, California a long time ago.
Arnold’s Beginning
When Arnold first came to this country, he needed to figure out a way to pay for his competitions, to pay to get to auditions, to pay to market himself, because he had a vision. To do all that, without having a 9 to 5 job, he saved every last penny he had from earning money in competitions, in giving workshops, and giving seminars, until he had enough money to purchase a 6-plex.
Arnold Schwarzenegger had a vision, and in that vision, he had a belief. That belief was he should first buy an income producing property. First, before buying a home to live in. That’s exactly what he did. He purchased a 6-plex, he lived in apartment number 6, and he rented out the other 5. That afforded him to do what he had to do.
Growing His Commercial Portfolio
Three years later, he sold his 6-plex, and bought a 12 unit. From his 12 unit down the road, he sold it, and bought a 36 unit. At this point, now he’s seeing the possibilities of the power of commercial real estate, so it led him to build his empire, that consisted of hundreds of apartment units, office building, and retail space, in west Los Angeles. Today, Arnold Schwarzenegger has a real estate empire worth 300 million dollars. That’s not the moral of this story. The moral of this story is, Arnold did all of this, all of that, before he became Governor of California. What I want you to get here, is Arnold used his real estate, his income producing real estate, to fuel his passions, and to fuel his dreams.
Fund Your Dreams
Arnold didn’t have a lot to begin with when he got started. Something I want you to think about. Us here, at commercial property advisors, I personally believe that we are the best in getting people started here. We can’t guarantee you, that you’re going to build a 300 million dollar portfolio, no one can. We can surely help you here, to get started on this journey. Again, the moral of the story is, to let your real estate endeavors and investments fund your dreams and your passions. I want to share a quick story with you, hopefully to encourage you. This is the license plate to our car, California. It says Dad, that’s me, and high 5 PJ, Peter Junior, that’s my son. You see, I had a dream many years ago, driving down the California coast with a Daytona yellow Corvette stingray with a 427.
Some of you car buffs know exactly what that is. To me, it was the most beautiful car in the world. That was my dream. I mentioned that to my mentor, my mentor challenged me. “Peter, buy the car, but buy it with your real estate.” That’s what I did. I bought a small apartment building that cashed over 1,100 dollars a month. I saved up 6 or 7 months of the cash flow, went out and got the car. The payments were 300 per month. With my cash flow, I’d pay it off in a year and a half, but the coolest part was on one chilly April morning, it was really foggy that day, my son and I jumped in that car … I was a single parent, and a full-time engineer, and just a part time real estate investor. That morning, we drove down the California coast, and my dream was realized. It was funded through my apartment investment.
The Question is: What are Your dreams?
What do you want to do in life? I hope this has encouraged you that it’s never too late to start. Here is the youtube link that’s going to show Arnold Schwarzenegger’s interview. It’s going to take you through this entire journey. I hope you enjoy it. It’s very encouraging, very inspiring to me.
Very humble story of persistence. I’m a Real Estate Agent in Australia & past Weightlifting competitor & single father. Arnold & Weider inspired me in the 80’s & i’m still using this mentality to achieve more than most people my age. Use your qualities & always listen to learn more than others. The real riches, just like the story is not the 427 Corvette it’s the Goal to Control your destiny in life…
You’ve imrpsesed us all with that posting!
I really appreciated the book and the link to Arnold. I never new that he made his first million in real estate. I will continue learning and then act with my knowledge.
This is very encouraging! I remember reading about Kiyosaki purchasing the asset first, then buying the car assets income. I also recall reading an old magazine article about Arnold having a vision for apartment buildings. This was a good refresher! Can’t wait to get myself started!