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Sharon Stone: ‘I just lost half my money to this banking thing’

Sharon Stone rallied attendees at a star-studded Beverly Hills fundraiser Thursday night to give generously to support the Women’s Cancer Research Fund by revealing her latest hardship, which appears to be related to losing a great deal of money following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

“I know that thing that you have to get on and figure out how to text the money is difficult,” a tearful Stone said to the crowd in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel ballroom. “I’m a technical idiot, but I can write an (expletive) 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, who was accepting the Courage Award from the organization that supports cancer research, didn’t elaborate on the specific “banking thing” that caused her losses, The Hollywood Reporter said.

But Stone’s reference comes in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the resulting volatility in the financial markets. The Santa Clara-based bank, which catered to the tech industry, collapsed on March 10 after suffering from an old-fashioned bank run. Stocks at other banks plummeted and investors have been left rattled, even as regulators moved to contain the fallout.

In her speech, the “Basic Instinct” star mentioned another recent hardship, presumably to show how she tries to persevere and wants to inspire others to do the same. Her brother, Patrick Stone, died last month at age 57 of heart disease.

“My brother just died, and that doesn’t mean that I’m not here,” Stone said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “This is not an easy time for any of us. This is a hard time in the world. … So stand up. Stand up and say what you’re worth. I dare you. That’s what courage is.”

Stone’s audience at the “An Unforgettable Evening” fundraiser included Rebel Wilson, Nia Vardalos, Rachel Zoe, Lisa Rinna, Harry Hamlin, Julianne Hough, Chord Overstreet and Kathy and Rick Hilton, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Disgraced TV star Lori Loughlin and her daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli also were in attendance, their latest effort to make their way back into Los Angeles high society after Loughlin served time in a federal prison for her role in the college admissions scandal.

The Women’s Cancer Research Fund mobilizes people in the entertainment industry to raise money to support cancer research. On Thursday night, its gala chair, Jamie Tisch, said the organization was honoring Stone because of her perseverance.

“What makes you a shining star, to me, is not just your talent, your beauty and your grace but your resilience no matter what life throws your way,” Tisch said. “Thank you for rising up, time and time again, and inspiring all of us by your radiant example.”

In her speech, Stone also talked about previous health challenges, which included needing breast reconstructive surgery in 2001 after doctors removed what turned out to be benign tumors.

“Those mammograms are not fun,” Stone said Thursday night. “And for someone like me who was told that I had breast cancer because I had a tumor that was larger than my breast and they were sure that I couldn’t possibly have a tumor without it being cancer, it wasn’t.

“But I went to the hospital, saying, ‘If you open me up and it’s cancer, please take both my breasts,’ because I am not a person defined by my breasts,” Stone said. The actor elicited some laughs when she said, “You know, that might seem funny coming from me since you’ve all seen ‘em.”

Sharon Stone on health scare when she was told she had breast cancer. “I went to the hospital saying, ‘If you open me up and it’s cancer, please take both my breasts’ because I am not a person defined by my breasts. That might seem funny coming from me since you’ve all seen ‘em.” pic.twitter.com/YTr17fB8jD

— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) March 17, 2023

Stone has been forthright about other challenges and heartbreaks in recent years, including her bitter 2008 court fight with ex-husband Phil Bronstein for custody of their son Roan and the August 2021 death of River Stone, Patrick Stone’s 11-month-old son. The baby, who was Sharon’s nephew and godson, died after suffering what was described as “total organ failure.”

Before River’s death, Stone’s “adopted grandmother” Eileen Mitzman died from complications associated with COVID-19 in 2020. Stone’s older sister, Kelly, who has lupus, and Kelly’s husband, Bruce, also dealt with serious COVID-19 complications before recovering that year, while the actor also revealed that her mother, Dorothy Stone, had suffered “two heart attacks” in previous months.

Stone recounted another life-threatening health scare in her 2021 autobiography, “The Beauty of Living Twice.” In 2001, when she was living in San Francisco and married to Bronstein, then the executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner, she suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage that led to an extended hospital stay and long period of recovery and hiatus from acting. Her family — including Patrick, her mother, father, sister and older brother — rushed to San Francisco to be by her side in the hospital, she wrote in her book.