As one of Hollywood’s most famous femme fatales, Sharon Stone has regularly played the role of the glamorous, alluring woman who lures unsuspecting men to ruin.
But, the Oscar-nominated actress has now claimed to have been the victim of a banking crisis herself, losing “half” of her considerable fortune.
Appearing at a fundraising event in Los Angeles to receive a Courage Award, the star of 1990s films such as Basic Instinct and Silver broke down in tears as he explained how this ‘banking thing’ had affected her.
The 65-year-old Oscar-nominated actress was speaking at the Women’s Cancer Research Fund in Beverly Hills.
She was receiving the award for raising awareness about breast cancer after opening up about the surgery she underwent following the discovery of a benign tumor in her breast.
But she then talked about mobile phone banking before apparently referring to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
“I know what you need to do and figure out how to text the money is tough,” she told the ballroom at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. “I’m a technical idiot, but I can write a f—–check.
“And right now it’s also courage, because I know what’s going on. I just lost half my money on this banking thing, and that doesn’t mean I’m not here.
Stone, who also appeared in Martin Scorsese’s Casino, didn’t explain exactly how the “banking trick” cost her so much money.
She is believed to have been referring to the turmoil surrounding the collapse of SVB on March 10.
All deposits at the SVB were protected after an intervention by Joe Biden, the US President.
However, anyone with shares in the bank would have suffered a significant loss.
High profile investors caught in the collapse
Stone’s comments came after a number of high profile investors were caught up in the meltdown. Peter Thiel, the German-American billionaire venture capitalist, said he had $50m (£41m) in SVB when he went bankrupt, despite his venture capital fund warning portfolio companies that the tech lender was in jeopardy.
His venture capital firm Founders Fund was among those who had advised clients to spread their deposits to other lenders as concerns over the bank grew.
Thiel later revealed that he maintained a substantial personal bank account despite fears he was exposed.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Mr Thiel, who co-founded tech companies PayPal and Palantir in addition to Founders Fund, said: “I had $50 million of my own money tied up 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. SVB’s parent company, meanwhile, has filed for bankruptcy.
The turmoil caused by the failure also triggered a plunge in Credit Suisse’s share price, with rival bank UBS set to launch a bailout over the weekend.
San Francisco-based First Republic was also hit by a slump in the stock price, suggesting it could also be hit by the panic that has gripped the industry.
Stone’s comments came after she also revealed that her brother, Patrick Stone, died in February of a heart condition at the age of 57.
She told the audience in Los Angeles, “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. It’s a tough time in the world. … So stand up. Stand up and say what you’re worth. I challenge you. This is that’s courage.
