“I Thought of Kids Sitting on It”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Once Got a $20,000 Grizzly Bear in His Governor’s Office to Attract Visitors

Bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger has mostly been committed to giving back to the community. To fulfill this vision, he served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. During his term, Schwarzenegger signed onto several green initiatives and donated the entire amount of his salary for charitable causes.

But that’s not all. He made some major changes to the office as well, including the installation of a large-scale bronze sculpture of a grizzly bear. Of course, he paid for the enormous statue with his own money.

Arnold Schwarzenegger on buying the statue

In 2009, Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed how he stumbled upon the idea of having a grizzly bear in front of his office. He went on a business and skiing trip to Aspen, Colorado, where he first laid his eyes on a similar work of art. “Suddenly this picture started running in my mind of this being in front of my office in the Capitol,” the Governor told the New York Times. 

“I thought of kids sitting on it, and wouldn’t that be cool?” Schwarzenegger refused to disclose the exact amount he paid out of his own pocket for the statue. Reportedly, the price range of such work ranges anywhere between $2,000 to $100,000. The kind that the bodybuilder went for has an estimated price tag of $20,000, not including shipping costs. 

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Grizzly bears used to inhabit California before vanishing from the landscape in the early 1920s. Consequently, Schwarzenegger’s gesture of bringing back the iconic animal to the state gained a favorable opinion from all. Since children loved playing around with the statue during school trips to the Governor’s office, the “Bacteria Bear” had to be shipped off during the coronavirus pandemic.

Schwarzenegger’s philanthropic efforts

Even after Arnold Schwarzenegger’s term as a governor ended, he has dog-mindedly involved himself in his giving back initiatives. He regularly attends the annual Austria World Summit, the centerpiece of the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative. Last year, he donated $250,000 to build 25 tiny houses for homeless veterans.

As a seven-time Mr. Olympia champion, he also uses his experience to visit prisons and teach the inmates how to become healthy through exercise. Schwarzenegger became a spokesman for the Special Olympics and regularly donates to many charities.

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As an Austrian-American who moved to the United States in 1968, Schwarzenegger holds the country in high regard. He attributes all of his success to the opportunities that America provided and puts a lot of effort into working for the country’s betterment. He even donated a million dollars towards COVID relief.