Turned down the opportunity to invest $5,000 in the production of
The Squaw Man (1914), an investment that would have made him a millionaire. When he was hired to star in the film, he was paid partly in cash and partly in stock of the company formed to produce the film, headed by
Cecil B. DeMille, the film's director. Farnum thought so little of the stock that he gave it to his valet. When the film was released, its tremendous success resulted in the value of the stock soaring, and Farnum's valet got rich almost overnight.