Schwarzenegger reveals financial muscle
Film star Arnold Schwarzenegger can count not just on his Hollywood appeal in the forthcoming election for California governor – he can pack a mean financial punch too.
The Austrian farm boy who found wealth and fame in the United States, Schwarzenegger owns tens of millions of dollars in stocks, bonds and other investments, according to a financial disclosure statement filed on Saturday.
The statement is a requirement for entering the race for California governor. It gave a broad picture of the investments owned by one of Hollywood’s highest paid entertainers.
Los Angeles election officials released his statement along with those of several other high profile candidates including Arianna Huffington, Bill Simon and porn publisher Larry Flynt. These three also cited investments or holdings in the millions.
The forms do not require exact numbers.
Schwarzenegger’s investments include such stocks as Starbucks, PepsiCo, Coca Cola, Roto Rooter, Washington Post Co, Abbott Laboratories, Clorox Co, Target and Wal Mart Stores, as well as millions of dollars in municipal bonds and property investments in Ohio and California.
The star of movies like Conan the Barbarian and the Terminator series cited 20 holdings worth over $1m and about 40 investments valued between $100,000 and $1m.
Too rich to be bought
His wife Maria Shriver, a member of the Democrat Kennedy family, reported in the documents that she had trust funds worth millions of dollars.
Schwarzenegger also reported receiving gifts from the likes of designer Giorgio Armani and Tommy Hilfiger and billionaire Marvin Davis, who gave the actor $45 worth of popcorn and an $85 gingerbread carousel for Christmas.
Tupperware gave him a Tupperware humidor worth $100 while his agents gave him a $400 leather and silver belt and investment guru Warren Buffett gave him a $75 coffee table book. Schwarzenegger also received a $1000 talking terminator skull from the producer of the latest Terminator film.
In his campaign appearances so far, Schwarzenegger has insisted he is so rich that he cannot be bought and will not be beholden to special interest groups.
The financial statements are requirements for running in the 7 October recall election which will decide if Governor Davis stays in office and, if not, who replaces him.