UPDATED The first time I heard the name Marina Acton was today when TMZ reported it was she who laid out $1.5 million at the Cannes amFAR gala for a painting of Bob Dylan by actor Pierce Brosnan. Whoever spent that dough, I thought, has a lot to spare.
So who is Marina Acton? Described as a “Ukranian philanthropist” and “billionaire,” she is not related to Brian Acton, co-creator and founder of What’s App.
Marina Acton hasn’t made an impact yet in New York, but they know her in L.A. Paparazzi stop her in front of Craig’s. This winter she plunked down $17.8 million for an estate that belonged to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. She likes spending money, that’s for sure. In January she gave $100,000 to Steven Tyler’s Janie Fund.
Marina, a beautiful blonde who hasn’t met a mink she didn’t like, fancies herself a pop star. In March she issued a video– in which she stars– for a song called “Fantasize.” She has some other recordings on Spotify. She’s also started a production company called Phreaker Films.
Also this spring she’s created a website for something called the Marina Acton Charity Fund. There’s no registration for it anywhere as a 501 (c) 3. It has something to do with protecting the internet. From their site:
The Marina Acton Charity Fund is a non-profit organization that was created to facilitate security of personal and professional communications through encryption and digital integrity. To do that, we provide grants and funding to organizations that strive to make the Internet safe and secure. We work with smart people to develop encryption and digital integrity solutions that have the potential of making significant breakthroughs in programming languages, codes and encryption techniques.
Isn’t this all great? If L.A. had a tabloid press we’d have known about these people already. In New York, the Daily News and Post would have been all over them. Here’s another one of Marina’s songs:
So let’s extend a warm welcome to Marina Acton to the world of celebrity. I like that she’s using that What’s App money as Dolly Levi’s late husband Ephraim advised, “like manure,” spreading it around, and making things grow!
Marina, come to New York. Le Cirque is closed but we’ll find things for you to do! (How about a painting by George Lazenby?)
