Can The Nobel Prize Be Shared Or Transferred? Committee Clarifies After Machado’s Trump Gesture

Last Updated:January 16, 2026, 08:52 IST

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump during their meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Venezuelan leader Maria Corina Machado presented her Nobel Prize to US President Donald Trump. (Photo: X)

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado made headlines after she handed over her Nobel Peace Prize 2025 medal to US President Donald Trump, who graciously accepted it, calling the moment a “wonderful gesture of mutual respect”. However, before the medal changes too many hands, a nagging question demands attention: Can a Nobel Peace Prize actually be shared, revoked, or transferred?

The Nobel Committee runs a tight ship. According to the rules laid down by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, once a prize is announced, it’s set in stone. “Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time. A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot,” the Nobel Peace Center said in a post on X.

The Nobel Committee’s remarks came after the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump during their meeting at the White House on Thursday. Following this, a White House official confirmed that the gold medal now remains in Trump’s possession.

Machado had won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting democratic rights and a peaceful transition in Venezuela.

Is It It Possible To Revoke A Nobel Peace Prize?

It is not possible to revoke a Nobel Peace Prize. Neither Alfred Nobel’s will nor the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation mention any such possibility.

According to the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, § 10, “No appeals may be made against the decision of a prize-awarding body with regard to the award of a prize.”

None of the prize awarding committees in Stockholm and Oslo has ever considered revoking a prize once awarded.

As a matter of principle, the Norwegian Nobel Committee will not comment upon what the Peace Prize Laureates may say and do after they have been awarded the prize. The Committee’s mandate is restricted to evaluating the work and efforts of the nominated candidates up to the moment it is decided who shall be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for a given year.

A Nobel Prize can neither be revoked, shared, nor transferred to others. Once the announcement has been made, the decision stands for all time.

This does not prevent the Committee from following the future endeavours of laureates closely, even though it expresses neither its concerns nor its acclamation.

Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize Bid

Trump, had time and again claimed that he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Courtesy – his claims of ‘stopping eight wars.’

The POTUS said one should get a Nobel Prize for “every war you stopped. These were major wars. These were wars that nobody thought could have stopped”.

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