The laureates received a reward of 9,000,000 SEK in 2017. The prizes are awarded annually in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. In years when the Nobel Prize is not given owing to external circumstances or a lack of nominations, the prize money is returned to the prize funds. The amount varies depending on how many people share the prize.
This year's prize awards were presented on October 3 at a ceremony in Stockholm attended by the families of the award winners. The family of Chinese-American scientist Tu Youyou receives 25 million kronor ($2.5 million) because she discovered an ancient herbal remedy that can prevent malaria during pregnancy. Indian-British scientist BS Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar wins the second prize of 5 million kronor. He invented a computer program used by scientists around the world to analyze DNA data.
Amundsen and Scott both died before they could collect their medals in Norway and Scotland respectively. Norwegian Roald Amundsen was the first person to reach the South Pole alone. His victory has never been revoked and he remains the only person to have done so. Scottish Robert Falcon Scott lost his life trying to return home after he had reached the pole. His body was found by a team led by Dr. Amundsen.
| Nobel Prize | |
|---|---|
| Reward(s) | A gold medal, a diploma, and a monetary award of 10 million SEK, approx. US$1,145,000 (2020); |
| First awarded | 1901 |
| Number of laureates | 603 prizes to 962 laureates (as of 2020) |
| Website | nobelprize.org |
Each winner (dubbed a "laureate") receives a gold medal, a certificate, and a monetary prize. The monetary reward for the Nobel Prize in 2020 is 10,000,000 SEK, approximately US $1,145,000, EUR 968,000, or PS 880,000. It is divided into 1,000,000 Swedish kronor (SEK) and 235,000 Swedish crowns (kr).
The monetary prize was established by an agreement signed by the Norwegian Parliament on 23 August 1905. It was meant to compensate winners for their loss of time and should be regarded as income. In 1970, this agreement was extended by law so that now the Nobel Foundation can also give out awards.
All funds not needed for administration are distributed back to the member states of the Nobel Foundation. Each year, the foundation distributes about 5% of its total assets value to new projects which have been approved by the board of directors. These projects can include educational institutions, research centers, and health initiatives with goals similar to those of the original prizes.
In addition to the monetary award, each laureate receives a gold-plated medal designed by Gunnar Birkerts. Other materials included with the award include a book containing an essay written by the laureate, and a dictionary published under the auspices of the National Dictionary Center at the University of Oslo.
Each recipient is awarded a gold medal, a certificate, and an amount of money determined by the Nobel Foundation. The 2019 Nobel Prize money is set at 9.0 million Swedish kronor (PS875,610) every complete Nobel Prize. This amount is divided among the winners proportionally to their awards.
The amount of money that you can expect to receive when you win the Nobel Prize is dependent on how many years have passed since the prize was last given out. If you won this year or next year, then your award would be 9 million SEK ($1 million). If you won in 10 years' time, then your award would be 9 million SEK per year for 9 years and 6 months.
All prizes are paid in Swedish Krona (SEK), Norwegian Krone (NOK), Danish Krone (DKK), American Dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), or Swiss Francs (CHF).
The amounts listed above are only approximate as the actual prize money will depend on how long ago the prize was given out and what currency is used to pay it in. For example, if you won this year but they decided to give it out next year then your award would be reduced by about half. And if you were to win again next year then your award would be doubled.
The prize is awarded annually in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. As of the granting of the 2020 prize, 52 economic sciences prizes had been awarded to 86 persons. They are given out by the Bank of Sweden Award Committee for the Nobel Foundation.
The number of winners has increased over time: when Nobel first started giving awards in 1968 there were only two prizes, one for physics and one for chemistry. Since then five more prizes have been added, three for literature and two for medicine/physiology or discovery. There was no prize for peace until 2009 when economist Barack Obama became the first president to receive the award.
Out of the 52 prizes that have been given since 1968, 23 have been given posthumously. Ten of these prizes were given for work done after Nobel's death in 1945: the first was given in 1950 to Karl von Wieser for his work on price theory; the second was not given until 2004; the last one was given in 2008 to Robert Aumann and John Nash for their work on game theory. The other 13 prizes were given for work done before Nobel died in 1945: the first one was given in 1969 to Herbert Simon for his work on organizational behavior; the others were given at various times between 1970 and 1996 for works related to computer science, mathematics, statistics, economics, and philosophy.
The first Nobel Prizes were granted in 1901, with a financial prize of SEK 150,000, which equates to around $1 million in 2020. The 2019 Nobel Prizes were valued SEK 9 million, which is almost the same as the sum in 1901 when adjusted for inflation. Thus, the value of the Nobel Prize has increased over time.
The highest award per person is $1 million, but many people have multiple awards. The second highest is $900,000 and the third is $300,000. There are also groups who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize whose awards include no cash component but who receive all other benefits of the prize system. These include free admission to Nobel Museum, Stockholm; the opportunity to create new categories of Nobel Laureates; and protection of their names and awards against appropriation for commercial purposes.
When you add up all the money won by members of the Nobel family, it exceeds $100 million. This is because five people have been awarded two prizes each. The fifth prize was not given out until 2009 so we will ignore that year for now.
The average age of Nobel laureates is 53 years old. Out of the 2,962 people who have been awarded the prize since 1901, only 44 have been under 40 when they received it.
There are currently 166 nations who have been awarded medals at the Olympics.
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