What is Arnold Schwarzenegger's IQ? The 135 quoted online is an estimate, not a test result. Here is his real record, from a business degree to governor.
Dr. Russell T. WarneChief Scientist
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Arnold Schwarzenegger's IQ is unknown. He has never released a test score, and the 135 quoted online (sometimes given as 132) traces back to no test, no date, and no named source. The verified record needs no invented number: 13 world bodybuilding titles, a University of Wisconsin-Superior business degree earned in 1979, one of Hollywood's biggest action careers, and more than seven years as governor of California. This article covers where the folklore figure comes from, what the documented record shows, and why no resume converts back into an IQ score.
Where the "135 IQ" claim comes from
The Arnold Schwarzenegger IQ figures live entirely on celebrity-IQ aggregator sites. One lists "IQ: 135" as a bare table entry with no source at all. Others in the same search results say 132, attributed vaguely to CBS News, again with nothing checkable behind it. When different outlets give different numbers for the same person, the spread is evidence in itself: there is no underlying document for anyone to copy correctly. He has never taken a publicly documented IQ test, and no original source for any of these figures has ever been produced.
What a 135 would mean if it were real
On a modern IQ scale with a mean of 100 and a "standard deviation" (a measure of how spread out scores are) of 15, a 135 would sit at roughly the 99th percentile, about 1 in 100 people. That is a specific, verifiable kind of claim when it comes from an actual test, which is exactly why it should not be granted for free to a famous resume. For what a real score at that level means, see our guide to what an IQ of 135 means.
The verified record
Schwarzenegger was born in Austria and at 20 became the youngest person to win the Mr. Universe title. He went on to win an unprecedented 12 more world bodybuilding titles before leaving competition for film.
The degree is real, and the details are better than the legend. According to the University of Wisconsin-Superior's alumni office, he earned an undergraduate degree in business administration from that campus in 1979, completing much of the coursework through the university's extended (distance) degree program while working in California; press accounts describe the requirements finished in late 1979 with commencement the following May. The alumni association also corrects a common mix-up: he did not graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as is often believed.
He became a U.S. citizen in 1983, and in 1990 President George H. W. Bush appointed him chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Other familiar chapters, such as arriving in 1968 with little English and building a real-estate nest egg before Hollywood paid him anything, come from his own telling and from secondary retellings, so treat them as reported rather than independently verified.
Governor of California, 2003 to 2011
In the 2003 recall election that replaced Governor Gray Davis, Schwarzenegger became the 38th governor of California, serving from November 17, 2003 to January 3, 2011. The National Governors Association credits his tenure with a bipartisan agreement to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions through landmark 2006 legislation, and with increasing the minimum wage while the state's unemployment rate fell. Whatever one thinks of his politics, running the largest state in the country for seven-plus years is a demanding cognitive job that he obtained twice through statewide elections.
Intelligence, drive, and what a resume cannot tell you
Research is clear that general cognitive ability predicts job and life outcomes on average across large groups (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). Schwarzenegger's path, mastering a second language, winning world titles by 20, finishing a degree by distance study, and governing California, is consistent with solid cognitive ability combined with extreme drive and decades of planning. None of it yields a number. IQ tests are valid instruments precisely because they are standardized; retro-fitting a "135" onto a famous life story is marketing, however scientific it sounds.
• Ability shows up in outcomes on average: Across populations, higher measured ability predicts better performance. Individual stories mix ability with drive, opportunity, and luck in proportions no one can read off a biography.
• A resume cannot be converted into a score: Only a validated, normed test yields an IQ. Nothing about titles, box office, or elections produces two-digit precision.
• The honest answer: No known score, and a verifiably capable record.
For contrast, see our articles on Dolph Lundgren's IQ, an action star with a better-documented academic record, and George W. Bush's IQ, a case study in how politician IQ estimates get manufactured.
Frequently asked questions
What is Arnold Schwarzenegger's IQ?
Unknown. He has never taken a publicly documented IQ test, and the 135 (sometimes 132) repeated online traces back to no identifiable source. His verified record, a business degree, a bodybuilding dynasty, a film career, and two terms as governor of California, is real; the number is not.
Where did the "Arnold Schwarzenegger IQ 135" claim come from?
From celebrity-IQ listicle sites that publish estimates without sources and copy from each other. The fact that different sites give different numbers for the same man is a giveaway that no actual test result exists.
Did Arnold Schwarzenegger go to college?
Yes. Per the Wisconsin Alumni Association, he earned an undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Superior in 1979, completing much of the work through the university's extended degree program while living in California.
How long was Schwarzenegger governor of California?
From November 17, 2003 to January 3, 2011. He became the 38th governor of California through the 2003 recall election that replaced Governor Gray Davis, and won a full term after that.
Was Schwarzenegger smart or just ambitious?
The verified record suggests both. Mastering a second language, winning Mr. Universe at 20 plus 12 more world titles, finishing a degree by distance study, and running the largest US state all demand planning, learning speed, and judgment. Without a validated test score, though, no honest number can be attached to any of it.
The takeaway
Schwarzenegger's story is often told as proof that a number can capture a person. It proves closer to the opposite: the most famous facts about him are documented achievements, and the IQ figure attached to them is the one thing nobody can source. If you want a real number for yourself, a properly normed assessment such as the Reasoning and Intelligence Online Test reports modern deviation scores with stated precision. You can start with the free version of the RIOT IQ test.
References
1. National Governors Association. (n.d.). California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.nga.org
2. Wisconsin Alumni Association. (n.d.). Arnold an alumnus?uwalumni.com
3. Celebrity IQs. (n.d.). Arnold Schwarzenegger IQ score: 135. (Cited as documentation of the circulating, unsourced claim.) celebrityiqs.com
4. Warne, R. T. (2020). In the know: Debunking 35 myths about human intelligence. Cambridge University Press. doi.org
5. Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262-274. doi.org
6. Neisser, U., et al. (1996). Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns. American Psychologist, 51(2), 77-101. doi.org
Hero image: Arnold Schwarzenegger at San Diego Comic-Con, July 2019. Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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