Nobel prize winners to get larger cash prize of US$1.21m in 2026

The first Nobel prizes were awarded in 1901, when the prize sum was 150,782 kronor per discipline. — Rodrigo Freitas/NTB/AFP pic

First Published: Saturday, 19 Sep 2026 9:00 PM MYT

STOCKHOLM, Sept 19 — This year’s Nobel prize-winners, to be announced October 5-12, will receive 12 million kronor (RM5.2 million) per discipline, up from 11 million in 2025, the Nobel Foundation said yesterday.

The hike is equivalent to around US$101,500 (RM414,495), and the sum is shared if there is more than one laureate in any of the six prize categories.

“This year, we are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Prize, and in connection with this, we are pleased to be able to increase the prize amount by one million (kronor),” the director of the Nobel Foundation, Hanna Stjarne, said in a statement.

“By increasing the prize amount, we uphold the long-term significance of the Nobel Prize and ensure that the financial part of the prize retains its value over time,” she said.

The first Nobel prizes were awarded in 1901, when the prize sum was 150,782 kronor per discipline.

The medicine prize will kick off this year’s Nobel week on October 5, followed each day by the prizes for physics, chemistry, literature and peace. The economics prize will wrap up the announcements on October 12. — AFP