How Nobel Prize Money Is Shared
A full Nobel Prize has an annually set cash amount, and the statutes allow it to be divided between two recognized works or shared by no more than three individual laureates.
Timeline
- Annual announcements in October: The prize-awarding institutions name laureates and state any division of the prize.
- December 10: Laureates receive a medal, diploma and document confirming the prize amount on Nobel Day.
The Nobel Foundation sets a cash amount for each full prize, and that figure can change between years. For 2025, the Foundation listed 11 million Swedish kronor for a full Nobel Prize. A laureate also receives a medal and diploma, but those ceremonial objects do not determine the percentage of the cash award. [1][2]
The Foundation’s statutes allow a prize amount to be divided equally between two works when both are considered prizeworthy. If a rewarded work was produced by two or three people, the prize may be awarded to them jointly. The statutes say that a prize amount may not be divided among more than three persons. [2]
Those rules produce two familiar patterns. Three laureates recognized for one joint contribution may share equally, each receiving one third. If the committee recognizes two separate contributions, one person can receive half for one contribution while two people jointly receive the other half, giving them one quarter each. The announcement or press release states the actual shares for that year. [1][2]
The 2025 prize in economic sciences provides a clear example of the second pattern. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences assigned one half to Joel Mokyr and the other half jointly to Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt. With an 11 million kronor full amount, the announced fractions describe the allocation before any personal tax, currency conversion or private arrangements. [1]
A prize awarded to one laureate is not divided simply because other researchers worked in the field. Nobel committees choose the named contribution and recipients under their rules. The three-person limit also means a Nobel Prize cannot formally include every member of a large collaboration, even when modern research depended on a much wider team. [1][2]
Institutions and associations are a separate possibility under the statutes. This is most visible in the Peace Prize, which has repeatedly gone to organizations. An organizational laureate receives the award in its own name; its internal use of the money is not the same as dividing a personal Nobel Prize among additional individual laureates. [1][2]
To calculate a particular year’s amount, first find the full-prize value for that year and then apply the fractions in the official announcement. Do not assume the current cash value applies historically, because the Foundation adjusts it over time. The enduring rule is the maximum of three individual laureates, while the exact split follows the recognized work or works. [1][2]
Sources
- Nobel Prize — facts, laureates and annual prize money
- Nobel Foundation — statutes governing prize divisions