“She Has Been Beating Me”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Revealed How Billionaire Oprah Winfrey Always Defeated Him in Their Own Money War

Arnold Schwarzenegger has spent over five decades in the public eye. As a legendary bodybuilder, the biggest film star, and the governor of California. In that time, he has made unbelievable friendships with a diverse collection of celebrities.

As a world-famous action star from the 80s, Schwarzenegger has done his fair share of talk shows. He has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show and the two go way back, the bodybuilder’s ex-wife, Maria Shriver, being close friends with the TV show host.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had a bet going with Oprah

The seven-time Mr. Olympia champion starred in an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1992. Arnold Schwarzenegger reminisced with Oprah about his pre-Terminator era or ‘the good old days’. They talked about how his presents for his ex-wife remained extravagant even back then despite a lack of aesthetic sense.

Oprah referred to Schwarzenegger as the “biggest star in the world” which prompted the bodybuilder to share exciting anecdotes of his own. He revealed that he and Oprah had a long-going bet about their careers and success, one that Schwarzenegger had constantly been losing.

“Oprah and I, we have, uh, many years ago decided that we’re going to compete on who is going to make more money every year,” he said. “And she has been beating me ever since.” Despite Schwarzenegger’s record-smashing success on the silver screen, he had been no match for Oprah.

Oprah Winfrey became the richest African-American of the 20th century, once the world’s only billionaire of her ethnicity. Her talk show went on for 25 years, the highest-rated television program of its kind in history. She is currently worth an estimated $3.5 billion. No wonder Schwarzenegger had a hard time catching up.

READ MORE: “Unforgivable”: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Ex-wife Maria Shriver’s Close Friend Blamed Him for Concealing Extra-Marital Affair During Her Rough Times

Oprah told Schwarzenegger about doubting her success

Arnold Schwarzenegger has always advocated for having a clear vision of your goals. Without knowing where you want to go, making the roadmap to success becomes exponentially harder. 

When Oprah opened that line of questioning in the interview, the bodybuilder recalled a similar conversation they’d had before. “We were driving around on the freeway, and we were talking about it. So what makes one successful and all those things,” he narrated.

“That’s when you told me that you’re never gonna be successful. I was born successful. You would never make it. I said, ‘No, no, you would make it too, believe me,’” he said. Schwarzenegger stands by his stance as his recipe for success always served him well.

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