Walt Disney had an expensive business idea that his company couldn't simply write a check for. So, he tapped an unusual mix of corporate investment, outside equity, bank debt and personal assets, including his life insurance policy.

A recent episode of the Acquired podcast chronicled how Disney built what would become the world's most successful entertainment company and repeatedly took enormous financial risks along the way.

By the early 1950s, Disney wanted to create a physical entertainment destination unlike the amusement parks of the era. What began as a relatively modest park concept eventually grew into plans for a 160-acre Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California.

The biggest problem, however, was the price tag. The park was initially expected to cost $5 million, roughly 10 times the less than $500,000 Walt Disney Productions earned in net income in 1952.

Disney personally committed roughly $250,000 to the project, according to Acquired. To raise his share, Disney sold his Palm Springs vacation home, took out a personal loan and borrowed $60,000 against his life insurance policy with Commerce Trust, now Commerce Bank. The loan is documented in a 1954 agreement that resurfaced decades later after its owner, a Disney memorabilia collector, contacted Commerce about it.

It's a striking example of just how much Walt was willing to put behind Disneyland. He wasn't only staking his professional reputation on the project, he was putting his personal finances on the line, too.

How borrowing against life insurance works Disney didn't have to cash out or cancel his life insurance policy to get the $60,000. Instead, Commerce Trust lent him the money using his life insurance policy as security.

According to former Commerce executive Jim Linn, loans backed by life insurance were a significant part of the bank's business in the early 1950s. Commerce offered them at 2% interest, compared with roughly 6% charged by life insurers themselves.