The Nobel Prize remains one of the world’s most respected awards. Scientists, writers, and peace advocates across the globe aspire to earn this rare honour. Receiving a Nobel Prize often marks the peak of a lifetime’s work. However, history shows that some winners chose a different path after receiving it.
The issue recently returned to public debate after Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado handed over her Nobel recognition to former US President Donald Trump. She described the gesture as a symbol of gratitude for his support of freedom. This move sparked controversy. Yet, similar incidents have occurred in the past.
Nobel Prizes Auctioned for Social Causes
In 2021, Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov won the Nobel Peace Prize. A year later, he auctioned his medal. The auction raised a record $103.5 million. Muratov donated the entire amount to UNICEF to help Ukrainian refugee children.
American economist John Nash, a Nobel laureate in Economics, also saw his medal auctioned. In 2019, Christie’s sold it for $735,000. The funds went to a trust created in Nash’s name to support academic work.
Sold Awards and Returned Medals
American scientist James D. Watson, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962, sold his medal to raise money for scientific research. Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov purchased it. However, he later returned the medal to Watson. Usmanov said the honour should remain with the scientist who earned it.
During the Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939, Danish scientists Niels Bohr and August Krogh auctioned their Nobel medals. They aimed to raise funds for Finnish citizens. The buyers later donated the medals to Danish museums.
Bohr’s son, Aage Bohr, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975. He auctioned his medal in 2011. Interestingly, he received another Nobel Prize again in 2019.
Controversial Nobel Transfers
Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920, gifted his medal to Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels during World War II. This act later became one of the most controversial moments in Nobel history.
Machado’s recent gesture toward Trump also drew attention from the Nobel Committee. The committee clarified that Nobel Prizes cannot be transferred, cancelled, or officially shared. While winners may sell or gift their medals or prize money, the Nobel title legally remains in the recipient’s name.
These incidents prove that while the Nobel Prize symbolises ultimate recognition, each laureate chooses how to honour its legacy.
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