Over the years, there has been a long list of action stars who rose to prominence only to disappear before too long. However, unlike most of their peers, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone have managed to remain relevant. Considering that Stallone and Schwarzenegger were both known for their massive physiques, it is even more amazing that they remain popular. After all, both men are now in their 70s and most people that age aren’t exactly in their physical prime any longer.
Ever since Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone first became stars, they have been compared time and time again. Of course, that makes perfect sense since Stallone and Schwarzenegger shared a lot of fans so it was only natural for them to try to gauge which actor was the bigger star. That said, if you want to decide whether Stallone or Schwarzenegger was more successful, one of the easiest ways to do so is to look at how much money they are worth.
A Noteworthy Rivalry
Ever since the internet became a force in the world, it has been incredibly common for fans to rank everything, including their favorite movie stars. However, considering how successful the top movie stars are, you may assume that they are above caring about such comparisons. When it comes to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, that certainly isn’t the case since the two men have been highly competitive with one another for years.
In the past, Sylvester Stallone has said that he and Arnold Schwarzenegger once disliked one another so much that “even (their) DNA hated each other”. In fact, at one point, Stallone wanted to outdo Schwarzenegger so much that Arnold was able to trick Sly into starring in one of the worst movies of all time. After reading a script for a film called Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot!, Schwarzenegger concluded that it was a “piece of s**t”. After Arnold passed on the project, the part was offered to Stallone who then called Schwarzenegger to ask about the role. In a moment of evil genius, Schwarzenegger told Stallone he was thinking about starring in the film. As a result, Stallone instructed his agent to take the role which he would quickly go on to regret.
Over time, that anger disappeared but Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone have continued to be obsessed with one-upping each other. For example, during a 2013 David Letterman interview, Stallone said "After a while, I started to like this competition, this one-upmanship. He’d get a bigger gun. I’d shoot more people. He’d shoot more people." These days, Schwarzenegger and Stallone are close friends who hang out all of the time. However, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t competitive with one another anymore as they love needling one another to this day.
Sylvester’s Filmmaking Career
Early on in Sylvester Stallone’s career, he wrote the script for Rocky. After shopping it around Hollywood, Stallone was offered a lot of money for the script but he passed on that massive cheque. Instead, Stallone took a lot less money to get the movie made with him in the titular role. As everyone knows, Stallone would come to be very thankful that he bet on himself since Rocky turned him into a movie star.
In the years since Sylvester Stallone first became famous, he has starred in several movies that have gone on to pass the test of time. Most notably, Stallone is best known for starring in the Rocky and Rambo movies. On top of those films, Stallone has also starred in several other classics including Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, Cop Land, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and The Expendables.
On top of the long list of blockbusters that Sylvester Stallone has starred in, he also has a long history of writing and directing movies. As a result of all that work, it makes sense that according to celebritynetworth.com, Stallone is worth $400 million.
Megastar Schwarzenegger
During the ‘80s and ‘90s, Sylvester Stallone was such a successful actor that it is hard to overstate how popular he was at that time. Even still, during those same years, Arnold Schwarzenegger managed to be just a little bit more successful. After all, for a long time, it seemed like every movie Schwarzenegger touched made a fortune at the box office.
To this day, Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as the star of the Terminator movies. On top of that series, Arnold also headlined several other classic movies including Commando, Predator, Total Recall, and True Lies among others. Since Schwarzenegger was such a proven commodity at the box office, the powers that be in Hollywood were happy to pay him a fortune to star in their films.
From 2003 until 2011, Arnold Schwarzenegger served as the Governor of California. Unfortunately, there is a long history of corrupt politicians making a fortune for themselves. That said, there has never been any evidence of Schwarzenegger doing anything like that. When you factor that in with the fact that Arnold stopped penning big-money deals to make movies while he was in office, it seems clear his net worth dwindled over those years. Despite that, Arnold Schwarzenegger is worth $400 million according to celebritynetworth.com. Amazingly enough, that means Stallone and Schwarzenegger are worth the same amount of money. As unlikely as that may be, it still seems fitting.