Nobel Foundation Cuts 2012 Prize Payout by 20%
STOCKHOLM—The Nobel Foundation, under pressure to cut costs following sluggish returns on capital in recent years, is slashing the value of its prestigious prizes for the first time in 63 years while also looking to trim in other areas, such as expenses related to its annual banquet.
Winners of the 2012 Nobel Prizes will be paid 8 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.1 million, representing a 20% decline from the 10 million, or $1.4 million, paid out last year. The Nobel Foundation typically gives out prizes each year in six categories spanning medicine to literature to chemistry.
The Nobel Peace Prize, the most popular of the prizes, has become one of the world’s most coveted distinctions.
The cut comes as organizers cope with economic instability, particularly in the equity markets where the Nobel Foundation has traditionally put a high concentration of its assets. In recent years, overhead expenses and prize money have outrun investment returns.
The last time the Nobel Prize payout was lowered was in 1949, and the value of the awards has gradually increased in the years that followed. Many Nobel laureates, including big-name winners like U.S. President Barack Obama, have given at least a portion of the prize money to charity.
“The value of the Nobel Prize lies in our ability to award the right persons, but one should not underplay the prize money,” Lars Heikensten, the foundation’s executive director, said Monday. “The Nobel Prize is and has been a big prize and we have the ambition to grow in the future.”