The Terminator always said he'd be back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is sifting through a stack of corporate, Hollywood and property offers as the celebrity politician nears an inevitable career crossroads: on Monday, he's out of a job.

His next act? After seven years as Governor in Sacramento, the former body builder and film star will, by his own account, hit the speech circuit, keep a hand in political activism and possibly write the autobiography that publishers have wanted him to do for years.

Austrian-born Schwarzenegger said he might even return to acting if the right script comes along - presumably one appropriate for a 63-year-old father of four with political baggage, advancing wrinkles and a tinge of grey.

"Will I still have the patience to sit on the set and to do a movie for three months or for six months, all of those things? I don't know," the Republican governor tweeted in October in a rare exchange about his future plans.

Spokesman Aaron McLear said Schwarzenegger is sorting out "an absolute flood of every conceivable offer" from the corporate world, property ventures and the entertainment industry, but the governor insists he will not make any decisions until after he surrenders the office to his successor, Democrat Jerry Brown.

"I don't have a plan," Schwarzenegger told hundreds of supporters and staff at a private farewell party in the California state capital, Sacramento, on Thursday.

He was less guarded in October when, along with plans for speeches and a book or two, he hinted broadly at a continuing role with the environment and political reform, issues that have become part of his mixed legacy at the statehouse.

In the absence of a global climate-change treaty, Schwarzenegger has urged state and regional governments around the world to address greenhouse gases. This month California regulators approved the nation's most extensive system giving major polluters financial incentives to discharge fewer greenhouse gases, a key piece of a 2006 climate law championed by the governor.

"There are a lot of important things that I want to say," Schwarzenegger tweeted. "My struggle for reform will continue, my belief in environmental issues and in protecting the environment will continue."

One thing is certain: the multimillionaire will start earning money, after passing up his 174,000 dollar (£112,228) salary throughout his two terms. His time in office left the governor with plenty of political welts, but the biggest hit was on his own wallet.

State records show Schwarzenegger put at least 25 million dollars (£16 million) in direct and indirect payments into two campaigns for governor and other political ventures since 2001, no small sum even for an actor who once commanded 30 million dollars (£19.4 million) a film.

That does not include travel costs. He often commuted from Los Angeles to Sacramento several times a week in a private jet at his own expense. He, wife Maria Shriver and his children never moved to Sacramento, preferring their secluded canyon estate a few miles from the Pacific Ocean.

His assets have been held in a private trust since he took office in 2003, but he can return to managing his portfolio, deep in property holdings, after stepping down.

His Hollywood future will be the subject of endless speculation. Hollywood insiders say he could take a role as producer or director, but do not expect him to reappear as a hulking screen hero swinging an automatic weapon.

"He's a wealthy and clever man. Wealthy and clever men have lots of possibilities," said veteran Hollywood publicist Michael Levine, who has represented Academy Award winners such as Charlton Heston and Jon Voight.

But the messy work of politics "tarnished his superhero persona", Mr Levine said. "He can get into anything that doesn't involve politics or acting."

One way to understand the governor's future is to look at his past.

Schwarzenegger rarely leaves anything behind. He might have spent years bickering over budget deficits and public pensions in Sacramento, but he maintained strong ties in the sports world and entertainment industry.

He has staged sports and fitness events in Ohio since 1989, and, even while in office, he made cameo appearances in films, most recently in friend Sylvester Stallone's action flick, The Expendables.

Some of his Hollywood friends were on hand at his exit party, giving a peek into the private life to which he returns in January - Stallone, Tom Arnold, Jay Leno and Danny DeVito.

Schwarzenegger long ago tamped down the showy lifestyle of his glory days in Hollywood - his gas-guzzling Hummers now run on clean fuels. Wild nights? In his spare time he likes to work out and dote on his kids.

He says a fun night can be watching a movie at home or going out to dinner with the family, although he gets out for an occasional motorcycle ride around Los Angeles.

The seven-times Mr Olympia appears robust despite a string of medical problems. He had a heart valve replaced in 1997, a 2001 motorcycle crash left him with several broken ribs, he had rotator cuff surgery in 2003, went to a hospital complaining of a rapid heartbeat in 2005, and broke an upper thigh bone while skiing in 2006.

He has admitted using steroids in his bodybuilding days, before they became illegal without a prescription, but it is unknown whether the drugs that can cause heart problems have had anything to do with any of his health issues.

Schwarzenegger and his wife are known for charitable work, which is expected to continue, and he also founded a committee with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell to encourage road, bridge and other infrastructure development.

Another run for political office appears unlikely. The moderate Republican will leave Sacramento unpopular with state voters, and he has often noted how his wife never wanted him to enter politics. He often sounds dismayed at the dysfunction within the state Legislature.

In a way, he does not need to. If he chooses, Schwarzenegger and his circle of wealthy friends can finance ballot proposals that can reshape state politics.

Ms Shriver, for her part, has chafed at questions about her future.

A power in her own right during Schwarzenegger's term, the 54-year-old former TV journalist is best known for running an annual women's conference which attracted a long list of business, political and entertainment luminaries, along with an audience of thousands.

Schwarzenegger and Ms Shriver each declined interview requests from The Associated Press.

In 2007, Ms Shriver, a member of the Kennedy political dynasty, said she would not resume a TV news career after the media circus surrounding Anna Nicole Smith's accidental drug overdose.

"It was then that I knew that the TV news business had changed and so had I," she said at the time. In a 2009 interview with AP, she said "I'm too much of a free spirit" to consider running for elective office.

Like Schwarzenegger, she is being approached by businesses and non-profit organisations with ideas for the future. She has a strong interest in Alzheimer's disease, which afflicts her father, R Sargent Shriver, a 1972 vice presidential candidate. Her late mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded the Special Olympics, where Maria Shriver serves on the board. She has made documentaries, including on Alzheimer's.

"I love the possibility that good journalism can inspire people and educate people if done well. I think there are many opportunities to do certain forms of journalism," she said in 2008.

Could Ms Shriver become another Oprah Winfrey? Establish a women's conference as a private venture? Turn back to journalism?

What's next?

"I have no idea," she told reporters last week.