After traveling back and forth between Surman and other countries for many years, a preliminary outline for cleaning up the Nobel legacy was finally reached in 1900.
A main list of Nobel's assets converted into cash in various countries is as follows (this is a list that was greatly depreciated and discounted in the process of converting Nobel's assets into cash):
Sweden 5796 140.00
Norway 94,472.28
Germany 6 152 250.95
Austria 228,754.20
France
Scotland
England 3,904,235.32
Italy
Russia 5232773.45
Total: SEK 33 233 792.20
The total amount of this inheritance converted into cash is 33,233,792 Swedish kronor, which is about 9.2 million US dollars. Not only then, but now, this legacy of Nobel is indeed a huge legacy.
According to the articles of association of the Nobel Foundation, a fund can be completely obtained by one person or divided equally by two or more people. Among them, the peace prize can be awarded not only to individuals, two or more people, but also to an organization and institution.
According to the articles of association, in addition to the considerable bonus awarded that year, the winner can also get a gold medal and an award certificate. Because the main fund of the Nobel Fund changes every year, the net income of the fund will be different every year, so the amount of each bonus will be different every year. For example, when 190 1 wins the first prize, the amount of each prize is about150,000 Swedish kronor, which is about 42,000 US dollars. Since then, due to the investment in bonds, stocks, real estate and other profits. The Nobel Fund keeps increasing in value and the amount of prize money is increasing year by year. After 1980s, the amount of each bonus increased to more than 6,543.8+0,000 Swedish kronor. In the 1990s, the amount of each bonus increased greatly. For example, 1993, each bonus is 6.7 million Swedish kronor, which is about $840,000 that year. For another example, each bonus in 1996 has been increased to 7.4 million Swedish kronor, which was about1120,000 dollars that year.
This year's Nobel Prize is 6.5438+million Swedish kronor, which is about 6.5438+0.4 million US dollars. According to the original intention of Nobel Prize, the ideal amount of Nobel Prize should guarantee a professor to continue his research for 20 years without salary. According to the data released by the Nobel Prize official website, the amount of the Nobel Prize in 190 1 year is1508.72 million Swedish kronor, which is equivalent to the salary of a professor for 20 years at that time. Since then, the bonus amount has been shrinking, from14.184,700 SEK to14.135,800 SEK. Until 1923, the face value of the Nobel Prize amount dropped to the lowest in history, which was 1 14935 kronor. Since then, although the amount of the Nobel Prize has expanded year by year, it has not reached the level of 190 1 due to several devaluations of the Swedish krona. 1969 When the Nobel Prize in Economics was first awarded, the prize amount was 375,000 Swedish kronor.
199 1 year, the Nobel Prize reached 6 million Swedish kronor, which is equivalent to the actual value when the Nobel Prize was awarded for the first time exceeding 190 1. Since then, the Nobel Prize has increased year by year. The Nobel Prize of 1992 is 6.5 million Swedish kronor, and that of 1993 is 6.7 million Swedish kronor. In 2000, the five individual Nobel Prizes and the Nobel Prize in Economics reached 9 million Swedish kronor (1 10,000 US dollars), far exceeding the nominal price of the whole original fund and the original prize. In 200 1 year, the centenary of the Nobel Prize was born, and the amount of the Nobel Prize reached100000 kronor, which has been maintained since then.
According to alfred nobel's last wish, only the direct income of the Nobel Foundation-interest and dividends-can be used for the Nobel Prize. Previously, the capital gains from stock operation could not be used for the Nobel Prize, but from June 5438+ 10 1 in 2000, the Nobel Foundation was approved to use the capital gains from asset sales for the Nobel Prize. According to this new rule, the proceeds from the sale of Nobel Fund assets can also be used for awarding activities and paying various fees "until they are no longer needed to maintain long-term good awarding ability". In addition, the Nobel Foundation can also decide the share of assets invested in the stock market. In the long run, this means that the Nobel Foundation may invest a larger proportion of its assets in stocks, which will bring greater overall income and a richer Nobel Prize. Therefore, if the Nobel Foundation invests properly in the future, the Nobel Prize will go up.
How does the Nobel Foundation make money?
After the death of 1896 10 in February 10, alfred nobel proposed in his will that a part of his legacy (US$ 9.2 million) be used as a fund, with interest divided into five categories: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace, and awarded to scholars all over the world who have made great contributions to mankind in these fields. The terms in the will and its "unusual" purpose, together with some incomplete forms, have aroused great concern and soon aroused doubts and criticisms. Only after several years of negotiations, consultations and sometimes even painful conflicts, countless difficulties and obstacles have been overcome, can the basic concepts in Nobel's last wishes appear in a stable mode with the establishment of the Nobel Foundation.
The Nobel Foundation is a private institution, whose duty is to protect the interests of the awarding institutions stipulated in Nobel's will and to represent the Nobel institutions. This includes all kinds of notification information activities and various arrangements related to awarding prizes, but the Nobel Foundation itself does not participate in the selection process and final selection of Nobel Prize winners. An important task of the Nobel Foundation is to manage its assets in a way that can protect the prize itself and the financial basis of the award process.
Therefore, the investment policy of the Nobel Foundation should naturally take maintaining and increasing its fund, thus increasing the bonus amount as the first important factor. The will itself instructs the executor to invest the remaining property in "safe securities". In the investment rules originally formulated by 190 1 for the board of directors, the term "security securities" was interpreted as gilt-edged securities or loans secured by such securities or real estate, which were mainly issued or existed in Sweden and Norway.
The foundation encountered many setbacks in the first 50 years, and the tax issue was one of them. When the foundation was established, people had not thought of taxation. Although the guardian of Nobel's will has been asking for tax exemption for the investment activities of the foundation, no one has paid attention to it. Before 19 14, the tax rate paid by the foundation was 10%, which was barely maintained. 19 15, the Swedish government passed a "temporary defense tax", which doubled the tax rate of the foundation. 1922, and the accumulated tax payment in that year exceeded 1923 Nobel Prize.
Since then, whether foundations should be tax-free has always been a topic in the Swedish parliament. This protracted discussion lasted for decades. It was not until 1946 that the result was obtained: the parliament agreed that the foundation enjoyed tax exemption. This decision of the Swedish parliament also infected Americans. The United States stipulates that the investment activities of the Nobel Foundation in the United States enjoy 1953 tax exemption.
The investment of the foundation began to shift from conservative to active. From 65438 to 0953, the government allowed foundations to invest independently, and they could invest their money in the stock market and real estate. This is a milestone change in the investment rules of the foundation. In the 1960s and 1970s, the amount of the Nobel Fund did increase a lot. If calculated in Swedish krona, the actual value of the fund did not increase due to the depreciation of the Swedish krona several times. In the 1980s, the stock market grew rapidly, and there were more and more assets of foundations and real estate. However, in 1985, Sweden raised the real estate tax, which greatly reduced the income of the foundation. Two years later, the Foundation made an important decision: transfer all the properties owned by the Foundation to a newly established listed company, which has an interesting name called "Recruiter". Later, the Foundation sold all its shares in the "Recruiter" company, just before the outbreak of the Swedish financial crisis in 1990, so it made a fortune.
Due to the good financial management of the Nobel Foundation, many countries in the world have followed suit. The two Japanese awards "Japan Award" and "Kyoto Award" set in 1985 are on the same level as the Nobel Prize in terms of the amount of bonuses. They are established and operated according to the Nobel Prize model. To this end, they also donated huge sums of money to the Nobel Foundation.