Genesis Prize

Not to be confused with Genesis Awards.

The Genesis Prize (Hebrew: פרס בראשית) is a $1 million annual prize awarded to people who have achieved significant professional success, in recognition of their accomplishments, contributions to humanity, and commitment to Jewish values. Genesis Lifetime Achievement Awards have also been awarded.

The Genesis Prize
Awarded for	Outstanding expression of Jewish values or service to the Jewish community and/or to the State of Israel.
Date	2013; 12 years ago (2013)
First award	2014
Website	www.genesisprize.org

History

The prize was founded in 2012 with a $100 million endowment from five Russian businessmen: Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven, German Khan, Stan Polovets, and Alexander Knaster.^[1][2] The prize was established under the administration of the Genesis Prize Foundation, in partnership with the Israeli Prime Minister's Office^[3] and the Jewish Agency for Israel.^[4] It has been referred to as the "Jewish Nobel Prize", causing some commentators to question the need for a "Jewish" Nobel Prize.^[5][6]

In 2018, prize winner Natalie Portman declined to attend the prize ceremony because Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was set to give a speech at the ceremony.^[7] In 2019 Robert Kraft's award was also questioned because of his legal troubles.^[8]

In 2021, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was awarded a posthumous Genesis Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to his widow by the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog.^[9]

As of December 2020^[update], all laureates have opted to give the $1 million prize money to philanthropic causes of their choice.^[10]

Laureate selection

Members of the committee that selects Genesis Prize laureates are chosen based on their leadership and support for Jewish causes.^[11][12][13] Current and former committee members include Elie Wiesel, Meir Shamgar, Lawrence Summers, Yuli Edelstein, Jonathan Sacks, Isaac Herzog, and Nathan Sharansky.^[13]

In 2020, the Foundation opened the selection process to online voting and invited the public to nominate and vote for the 2021 Genesis Prize Laureate.^[14] Close to two hundred thousand Jews on six continents participated in the voting.^[15] The final selection of the Laureate remains with the two committees.^[16]

Laureates

Genesis Prize laureates

Year	Laureate		Main occupations	Country	Rationale
2014		Michael R. Bloomberg	mayor of New York City, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P.	United States	For his "track record of outstanding public service and his role as one of the world's greatest philanthropists".[1][17] Bloomberg donated his award to a subsequent competition, the Genesis Generation Challenge, to fund young adults' ideas to solve major problems.[18] Nine projects were selected from submissions: Building Up, eNable 3D Printed Prosthetics, Friends of the Arava Institute, LAVAN, Prize4Life, Sanergy, Sesame, Spark, and the Vera Fellowship Program.[19]
2015		Michael Douglas	actor, film producer	United States	For "his body of work as an actor and producer; his passionate advocacy as a UN Messenger of Peace, focusing on human rights, gun violence prevention, and nuclear anti-proliferation work; and for his passion for his Jewish heritage".[20][21][22] Douglas' award led to a program called "Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their families," which dispersed $3.3 million in grants to organizations promoting the engagement of intermarried families in Jewish life.[20] A second set of grants were disbursed in 2016.[23]
2016		Itzhak Perlman	violinist	Israel / United States	For his "story of overcoming extraordinary personal challenges to excel as one of the world's great musicians and humanitarians". The prize was doubled by a donation from Roman Abramovich to $2 million.[24][25] Perlman re-gifted the funds to fund grant programs to support initiatives for people with disabilities in North America and in Israel, and for arts and culture.[25]
2017		Anish Kapoor	sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art	United Kingdom / India	As "one of the most influential and innovative artists of his generation".[26] Kapoor said he would direct his $1 million award to helping alleviate the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis and focus on expanding the Jewish community's engagement in a global effort to support refugees.[26][27]
2018		Natalie Portman	Actor	Israel / United States	"In recognition of her commitment to social causes and deep connection to her Jewish and Israeli roots."[28] The prize was doubled by a donation from Morris Kahn to $2 million.[29] Portman said she would donate her award funds to philanthropic programs focused on women's equality, education, economic advancement, health, and political participation.[28][30]
2018[fn 1]		Ruth Bader Ginsburg	associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States	United States	For her "contribution to the development of a fair and just society that provides equal opportunity for all." The Genesis Prize Foundation announced that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Genesis Lifetime Achievement Award. The Award coincides with the fifth anniversary of the Genesis Prize.[32]
2019		Robert Kraft	CEO of the Kraft Group, owner of the New England Patriots	United States	"In recognition of his philanthropy and commitment to combatting anti-Semitism." Kraft's prize money was donated to initiatives that combat anti-Semitism and prejudice.[33]
2020		Natan Sharansky	Soviet dissident, Chairman of the Executive for the Jewish Agency	Israel	In recognition, as a "legendary advocate for freedom, democracy and human rights."[34][35] His prize money was used to fund innovative solutions and interventions to the COVID-19 pandemic.[36][37]
2021		Steven Spielberg	filmmaker, the most commercially successful director in history[38]	United States	For "his contribution to cinema, his philanthropic works and his efforts to preserve the memory of the Holocaust."[39] His prize money was donated to U.S. non-profits fighting for racial and economic justice.[40]
2021[fn 2]		Rabbi Lord Johnathan Sacks	Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth	United Kingdom	For "his extraordinary role in inspiring the next generation of Jews, and his illustrious life-long work as a teacher of Jewish values and an advocate of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue."[41]
2022		Albert Bourla	veterinarian, CEO of Pfizer	Greece / United States	For "leadership, determination, and willingness to assume great risk, which resulted in the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine being ready in record time: months instead of years."[42]
2023	Jewish activists and NGOs supporting Ukraine				For "working to uphold Ukraine's independence and alleviate the suffering of the people of Ukraine."[43]
2024	Israeli organizations supporting hostages and their families				For "providing treatment, counseling and support to the released and rescued hostages and their families."[44]
10th Anniversary		Barbra Streisand	singer, actor, director	United States	For "six decades of Streisand’s contributions to cinema and music and her commitment to improving the world."[45]
2025		Javier Milei	President of Argentina	Argentina	For “his unequivocal support of Israel during one of the most difficult times since the founding of the Jewish State”, in reference to the Gaza war.[46]

Controversies

The Prize came under scrutiny from the start for its "right-leaning, overwhelmingly male selection committee."^[47]

According to Haaretz, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was initially the sole 2018 award recipient. But according to a committee source, when the Prime Minister's Office learned that a critic of Trump would be publicly given an award by Netanyahu, it was transferred to Portman. As consolation, Ginsburg was given a separate "Lifetime Achievement Award." Another committee source denied this was the reason the award was changed.^[48]

On November 7, 2017, the Genesis Prize Foundation announced that actress Natalie Portman was the 2018 Genesis Prize Laureate, and that she would donate the $1 million Genesis Prize Award to philanthropic programs focused on women's equality, education, economic advancement, health, and political participation.^[28][30] A month later, Israeli philanthropist Morris Kahn pledged another $1 million in Portman's honor, bringing the total gift to $2 million.^[29] The prize ceremony was canceled in April 2018 after Portman's representatives told the press that "recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her and she does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel." Portman later claimed that she was not boycotting Israel, but that she didn't want to "appear as endorsing" prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was set to give a speech at the ceremony.^[49][29][50]

In January 2020, partly as a result of the Portman controversy, the Genesis Prize Foundation and the Israeli Prime Minister's Office agreed to terminate their agreement^[51] which required the Prime Minister to present the award to the Genesis Prize Laureate at a ceremony in Jerusalem.^[52]

In 2019, Prize Laureate Robert Kraft was named as one of more than 200 people involved in a Florida solicitation sting operation.^[53] Genesis Prize Foundation Chairman Stan Polovets said that the Prize to Kraft would not be rescinded, noting that in democratic countries "everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence."^[54] All charges against Kraft were later dropped.^[55]

Laureates per country

Below is a chart of all laureates per country (updated to 2025 laureates). Some laureates are counted more than once if have multiple citizenship.

Country	Number of laureates
United States	9
Israel	3
United Kingdom	2
Argentina	1
India	1
Greece	1

Notes

1. Lifetime achievement honoree^[31]
2. Lifetime achievement honoree