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.
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!
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.
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.
Body of Work
Arnold went on to take three Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles, the last of which he won after joining the competition exceptionally late! However, there has been controversy over his use of anabolic steroids, which he took while still legal.
In 1977 he commented on this, saying that “steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up.” With a body like that, it’s no wonder that he used a little something something on the side.