Arnold Schwarzenegger

Built and reinvested across mail-order, bricklaying and real estate to reach financial independence before acting, so he never negotiated from desperation.

Austrian-born seven-time Mr. Olympia who compounded bodybuilding fame into a mail-order and bricklaying business and a California real-estate portfolio that made him a millionaire before Hollywood, then became the highest-paid action star of his era and a two-term Governor of California.