Schwarzenegger says governorship cost him $200 mln

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Long Beach, California, in this October 26, 2010 file photo.

VIENNA (Reuters) - Serving as California governor cost Arnold Schwarzenegger at least $200 million, the bodybuilding star turned actor and politician told a newspaper in his native Austria, insisting 'it was more than worth it."

Counting expenses and lost income from acting in Hollywood films, "in all it is probably more than $200 million," he told Krone when asked how much his two terms in Sacramento had cost.

"But I'm not sorry. It was more than worth it," he said.

"What was much worse was the damage my time as governor did to the family. There is a lot there that needs to be repaired," he said, recalling the many Sunday evenings when his wife, Maria, and children broke out in tears at his heavy work schedule.

"We hate your job," Schwarzenegger quoted family members as saying during his early years as governor when he would leave his Los Angeles home every Monday morning for the capital, Sacramento, and not return until the end of the week.

"It was heartbreaking every time," said Schwarzenegger, a Republican who served as governor from 2003 until early this month. "In my second term of office, I did better. I tried to fly home every evening."

(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Peter Cooney)