Nobel Foundation reaffirms prize cannot be 'passed on' after Maria Machado gifts it to Trump

STOLKHOLM, SWEDEN: The Nobel Foundation issued a clear and emphatic statement Sunday, January 18, reaffirming that the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared, or passed on to someone else.

This statement came following reports that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado had gifted her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump. The White House posted a photo showing Trump and Machado, with the president holding up a large framed display of the medal, while officials confirmed that Trump intends to keep it.

Nobel foundation clarifies rules on Peace Prize transfer

One of the core missions of the Nobel Foundation is to safeguard the dignity of the Nobel Prizes and their administration. The Foundation upholds Alfred Nobel’s will and its stipulations. It states that the prizes shall be awarded to those who have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind, and it also specifies who has the authority to award each prize.

Because of this, the Foundation emphasized that a prize cannot be "passed on, even symbolically, or further distributed" after it has been awarded.

The clarification was prompted by Machado’s gesture when she met Trump on Thursday and presented her prize, a move many saw as part of the president’s broader effort to gain international recognition and validation.

The Nobel Foundation also noted that this statement came just a week after the Nobel Prize Committee made clear that the awards cannot be transferred or shared with others once they have been announced.

In its own statement, the Committee explained that it frequently receives questions about the permanence of the Prize laureate’s status. The Nobel Foundation also clarified that there are no rules restricting what a laureate may do with the physical medal, diploma, or prize money itself.

That means a laureate is free to keep, give away, sell, or donate these items. However, this does not affect the official status of the award or change the fact that the original laureate is recorded in history as the official recipient of the prize.

Machado gifts Nobel Peace Prize to Trump and sparks reaction

Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize award included not only the medal but also a diploma and about $1.19 million in prize money. Earlier, Machado told Fox News host Sean Hannity that she believed Trump deserved the award because of his role following the arrest of former President Nicolas Maduro.

Machado further explained that she dedicated the prize to him because of what she described as “historic” achievements, which many had previously considered difficult or even impossible.

The president called it a "wonderful gesture of mutual respect." Trump wrote on his social media platform, "Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. It was my great honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much."

Machado also told reporters as she exited the White House that it "took a lot of courage" for Trump to take action against Maduro. She referenced history, saying, “I told him this ... Listen to this — 200 years ago, General Lafayette gave Simon Bolivar a medal with George Washington’s face on it. Bolivar, since then, kept that medal for the rest of his life.”