The Board of Directors of the Nobel Foundation reduced the amount of the 2012 Nobel Prizes by 20 % to SEK 8.0 million per prize (USD 1.1 million) from SEK 10.0. The Nobel Foundation regards this as a necessary measure in order to avoid an undermining of its capital in a long-term perspective. The capital left behind by Alfred Nobel must be managed in such a way that it will be possible to award the Nobel Prize in perpetuity, while guaranteeing the independence of the prize-awarding institutions.

During the past decade, the average return on the Foundation’s capital has fallen short of the overall sum of all Nobel Prizes and operating expenses. The costs of the Nobel Foundation’s central administration and the Nobel festivities are also being reviewed.

The organizations that disseminate information about the Nobel Prize and the achievements of the Laureates, such as Nobel Media and the Nobel Museum in Stockholm and the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo are essentially externally financed, for example via grants from central or local government authorities, corporate sponsors, private donors, foundations or philanthropic entities.

• Nobel Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden