Arnold Schwarzenegger is well aware of what it takes to be successful. The Austrian-born actor turned politician paved his own way toward a successful Hollywood career.
Now the actor wants to ensure that his children don’t expect handouts from their dad and learn the value of hard work. His ‘tough love’ approach even forced his son to change his career trajectory… Keep reading to learn more.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is known for playing tough guys on screen, and in his real life it seems like he holds onto some of that toughness as well. Joseph Baena is the actor’s son who he had with his housekeeper Mildred Patricia Baena. At the time, Schwarzenegger was married to journalist Maria Shriver. His affair shocked the world and his fans.
Schwarzenegger supported his son throughout his life and gave him a monthly allowance to help with his expenses. But it seems that he was on a deadline; as soon as he finished college, he was to handle his own finances.
It is not like Schwarzenegger is short on cash, the actor has made millions in his career and owns a luxurious gym that brings in a lot of money. Baena, who chose to use his mother’s last name as his, said he was happy his father supported him while he was studying.
But the young man wants to forge his own identity as well. He said in an interview, “My dad is old-school; he doesn’t believe in handouts. He believes hard work pays off, and so do I.” Adding, “I love the word honor, and I’m very prideful in the sense that if I use my dad’s contacts or ask him for favors, I wonder what honor is that gonna bring me?”
Like his father, he wanted to make a career in acting and bodybuilding. He wanted to make a career as an actor but soon found out that it was tough to do so. The young man was unable to find work that would help him pay his bills.
This made the young actor and body-builder pivot in his career and trained as a real estate agent. His background with a diploma in Business Administration helped him in his quest.
“So yeah, I needed a job, and I was not getting any of the acting roles that I thought I was going to get, and like starting to get paid,” he continued. “I was like, ‘I need to do something.’ So I started interning at this real estate company,” 25-year-old Baena said.
Now the young man has a promising career in real estate as well. He sold his first house last year, making a post to share about his excitement about the milestone. He posted a picture of himself holding a ‘SOLD’ sign with the caption, “SOLD!!! Congratulations to my clients for trusting myself and @aria_properties to sell their beautiful Santa Monica Property!.”
The young realtor posted about how he is based in West Los Angeles and Silicon Beach, and if anyone wanted to sell their home, they should send him a message.
Now with his new career perhaps he has also realized he is his own man. The young aspiring actor said, “I don’t have to get into acting or bodybuilding. I’m very motivated and driven. I’m happy about my relationship with my dad. But I’m more happy that I am finding joy in what I’m doing and that I’m doing exactly what I’ve always dreamed about.”‘
“A lot of guys struggle with trying to make their dad proud or trying to get out of their dad’s shadow. But as long as you’re doing what you want to do, then that all comes. Of course, maybe those guys don’t have such nice dads,” Baena went on to say.