In an unexpected move, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House on Thursday. She described the gesture as "a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom."
The Nobel Committee, however, was quick to clarify that such a transfer has no legal or symbolic standing. According to the Norwegian Nobel Institute and the Nobel Committee, once awarded, a Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared, or reassigned. This rule is a core principle of the Nobel Foundation's statutes, as laid out in Alfred Nobel's will.
While a laureate is free to dispose of the physical medal or prize money as they wish, the official title and honour of being a Nobel Peace Prize recipient permanently belong to the chosen laureate and cannot be passed on.
However, Nobel laureates parting with their award medals is not unprecedented.
Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, with Maria Ressa of the Philippines, for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression in their respective countries. Muratov auctioned his medal the year after he won the prize for a record-breaking $103.5 million. The proceeds from the sales were donated to UNICEF's fund for Ukrainian child refugees after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Danish physicists Niels Bohr and August Krogh also auctioned their award medals to raise funds for Finnish War Relief after the Soviet Union invaded Finland in 1939. The medals were later donated to Danish museums.
Niels Bohr's son, Aage Bohr, also won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975. He had his medal sold in an auction in 2011 and then again in 2019. He won the prize with Ben Mottelson and James Rainwater for their work on the collective motion in atomic nuclei.
Norwegian author Knut Hamsun, who was a Nazi sympathiser, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920 and presented his medal to Nazi Germany's Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels as a gesture of support during World War II.
James D. Watson became the first living Nobel Laureate to sell his medal. He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for discovering the DNA structure. He said that the proceeds would go towards scientific research and conservation. However, in a twist of fate, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov bought the medal and returned it back to Watson, saying that the scientist "deserved" to keep it.
John Nash received the Economic Sciences Prize for his work in game theory. His medal was auctioned at Christie's in 2019, where it sold for $735,000. The proceeds went towards the John C.M. Nash Trust.
