As one of Hollywood’s most famous femme fatales, Sharon Stone regularly plays glamorous and seductive women who tempt unsuspecting men to rack and ruin them.
But the Oscar-nominated actress has now claimed she was an unwitting victim of the banking crisis, losing “half” of her substantial fortune.
Appearing at a Los Angeles fundraiser to receive the Courage Award, the star of 1990s films such as Basic Instinct and Silver broke down in tears as she explained that “banking thing” had affected him.
The 65-year-old Oscar-nominated actress was speaking at the Women’s Cancer Research Fund in Beverly Hills.
She was receiving the award after she revealed that she underwent surgery after being diagnosed with a benign tumor in her breast to raise awareness about breast cancer.
But she spoke before speaking about mobile phone banking’s apparent downfall Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
“I know you have to receive and it’s hard to figure out how to text money,” she said in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel ballroom. “I’m a tech nerd, but I can write a f—-g check.
“And now, that’s courage, too, because I know what’s going on. I just lost half my money in this banking thing, and that doesn’t mean I’m not here.
Stone, who also appeared Martin Scorsese CasinoThe “banking thing” fails to elaborate on how he spent so much money.
It is thought that he was referring to the turmoil surrounding the collapse of the SVB on March 10.
After the intervention of US President Joe Biden, all deposits at SVB have been secured.
However, anyone who owned shares in the bank had to suffer huge losses.
High-profile investors were caught in the fall
Stone’s comments came after several high-profile investors were caught up in the fallout. Peter Thiel, The German American billionaire venture capitalist said he had $50 million (£41 million) in SVB when it went under, despite his venture fund warning portfolio companies that the tech lender was at risk.
His venture capital firm Founders Fund was among those advising clients to spread their deposits among other lenders as bank concerns grew.
Thiel later revealed that he had maintained a substantial personal account at the bank, despite his fear of being exposed.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Mr Thiel, who co-founded tech companies PayPal and Palantir in addition to founding funds, said: “$50 million of my own money was stuck in SVB.”
Losing that kind of money wouldn’t have ruined Thiel, who was Facebook’s first major investor and is now worth more than $4 billion. On the other hand, SVB’s parent company has filed for bankruptcy.
The turmoil sparked by the failure also sent Credit Suisse’s share price tumbling, with rival bank UBS lining up to launch a rescue takeover over the weekend.
San Francisco-based First Republic was also hit by the share price plunge, which could also be affected by panic gripping the industry.
Stone’s comments came after he revealed that his brother Patrick Stone had died of heart disease in February aged 57.
She told an audience in LA: “My brother just died, and that doesn’t mean I’m not here,” Stone said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s not an easy time for any of us. A tough time in the world. … So stand up. Stand up and say what you’re worth. I dare you. That’s what courage is.”
