Who would’ve imagined that a Hollywood star would successfully run one of the biggest states in the U.S. for eight years? After reigning the bodybuilding world and eventually the action film industry, Arnold Schwarzenegger excelled as a politician. He cherishes it as one of his notable victories, and the community can’t help but bow down to him. However, as tears once ran down his face, Arnie was equally stunned after he was announced as the new governor of California in 2003.

The actor narrated the moment of his triumph in his autobiography once. He admitted to crying in front of the TV upon hearing the news and also hiding it from his young daughter.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s heartwarming moment

According to his autobiography, the 76-year-old athlete was getting ready for a party on the night of his election, knowing he had a high chance of winning. Yet, there was a final confirmation pending, and Arnie hadn’t imagined he would end up in tears. Hence, as he walked into the bedroom to put on his shoes, he heard a CNN host declare his name as the new governor.

“We can call the election now. The new governor will be Arnold Schwarzenegger,” he quoted from the announcement in his book. Tears streamed down an overjoyed Arnie’s face. Although he had some idea of the results, he still couldn’t believe that all his hard work had finally come to fruition, once again in life. “I never thought I’d walk by a TV set and hear ‘Schwarzenegger is the new governor of California,'” the IFBB pro stated in the book Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story.

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While The Austrian Oak took a moment to accept his success, his daughter, Katherine, walked in to get her father’s opinion on a dress. The teary-eyed governor tried to hide his tears from his daughter. “I wiped away the tears. I didn’t want her to see,” Arnie admitted. Simultaneously, Maria Shriver joined Arnie to celebrate his victory. On a different note, the star once made a notable effort that was peculiar to the other former governors.

Arnold Schwarzenegger once skipped his Governor salary

While it is true that Arnold was liberated to the highest remuneration among all governors, in terms of his salary, he did not take it. He was paid a hefty amount of $187,000, which added up to $206,500 later on. Yet, the Terminator actor decided that the income could be put to better use and deemed it as “petty cash.”

Hence, utilizing the remuneration in a rather mindful way, he donated most of it to charities and also to COVID-19 relief funds. Per source, he donated $1 million as assistance funds to the front-end employees, working 24×7 during the pandemic, to help the victims. Besides that, Arnie also installed his own climate change scheme, the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative.

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The Austrian Oak’s efforts to resolve important issues might not have been world-changing, but he undoubtedly had a significant influence throughout. As a result, people were pleased with his work, and he served as governor for another seven years until 2011.