LOS ANGELES - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has donated 25 tiny homes worth US$250,000 (S$339,000) in total to homeless veterans.

The former California governor unveiled the Los Angeles homes last week as an early Christmas gift.

"Today, I celebrated Christmas early," Schwarzenegger, 74, tweeted last Thursday (Dec 23). "It was fantastic to spend some time with our heroes and welcome them into their new homes."

He added in a follow-up tweet: "All of you have the power to do something for someone else this holiday season. It doesn't have to be big. Just give a few minutes of your time to help someone else."

The shelters are each furnished with a bed and equipped with heat, electricity and air-conditioning, and will house the veterans until they find permanent homes.

Speaking to host Elex Michaelson of news programme The Issue Is, Schwarzenegger said: "I've made and have this great success because of America."

The former bodybuilder and actor from Austria, who starred in movies such as The Terminator (1984) and Total Recall (1990), added: "If it isn't bodybuilding, if it isn't business, if it isn't show business, movies and politics - whatever I tackled, I achieved because of America. So to me, it's always great to give something back."