Sharon Stone says she lost money in "this banking thing" at a recent event.
The "Basic Instinct" star received the Courage Award on Thursday night during the Women’s Cancer Research Fund’s An Unforgettable Evening fundraiser, and as she encouraged people to donate, she shared her own financial concerns.
"I know that thing that you have to get on and figure out how to text the money is difficult. I’m a technical idiot, but I can write a f---ing check. And right now, that’s courage, too, because I know what’s happening. I just lost half my money to this banking thing, and that doesn’t mean that I’m not here," Stone said.
Though she does not specify exactly what the "banking thing" was, her comments came just after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which caused major financial market volatility.
The bank, which primarily served tech start-ups, was the 16th largest bank when it was shut down on March 10 by California regulators. The FDIC took over the bank's operations following a liquidity crisis as depositors rushed to withdraw their money amid a panic over the bank's health. It was the second-largest bank failure in United States history and the largest since Washington Mutual went under in 2008.
Days before its collapse, SVB disclosed huge losses which sent its stock price cratering 60%. The vast majority of the bank's customers had deposits in excess of the FDIC's $250,000 protection threshold, which led to fears hundreds of startup companies might lose access to their money and be unable to make payroll.
The Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC announced a plan on Sunday to ensure that SVB customers would be able to access all of their funds — even beyond the $250,000 limit.
Stone went on to reference the recent loss of her brother, Patrick Stone, who passed away from a heart attack last month at age 57.
"My brother just died, and that doesn’t mean that I’m not here," she told the audience. "This is not an easy time for any of us. This is a hard time in the world, but I’m telling you what, I’m not having some politician tell me what I can and cannot do. How I can and cannot live, and what the value of my life is and is not. So stand up. Stand up and say what you’re worth. I dare you. That’s what courage is."
The 65-year-old has had her share of health traumas over the years, which she opened up about in her memoir, "The Beauty of Living Twice."
In 2001, she suffered a stroke and also underwent surgery to remove benign tumors in her breasts.
Last November, she shared on Instagram that she had a "large fibroid" tumor removed as well.
As she told the audience at the fundraiser, "…don’t ever feel compelled not to get a mammogram, not to get a blood test, not to get surgery because it doesn’t matter. I’m standing here telling you I had one-and-a-half and more tissue of my breasts removed and none of you knew it."