While the Israel Ministry of Education opens nominations for its highest civilian distinction, one of its most prominent recent laureates has yet to claim his monetary award: Israel Hayom has learned that Donald Trump has yet to pick up his cash winnings, which remain uncollected at ministry headquarters in Jerusalem along with a special golden statuette with a Star of David that resembles the Western Wall.
Trump was the laureate in the Israel Prize lifetime achievement category for his special contributions to the Jewish people for the 5786 Hebrew calendar year, but he chose not to attend the ceremony that was held during Israel's Independence Day this past spring, presumably because of being preoccupied with far weightier global matters – including the war against Iran and efforts to defeat the axis of evil.
The cash award, identical to that given to all recipients, stands at 75,000 shekels (approximately $21,000). Addressing the uncollected funds, the Ministry of Education said, "The cash prize has not yet been transferred to President Trump. Should he choose to accept it, it will be awarded to him."
President Trump is almost certainly the wealthiest figure ever named an Israel Prize laureate. Yet past rosters include several prominent Israeli entrepreneurs who hardly required the financial stipend. While many scholars, scientists, and literary figures rely on the award as meaningful recognition for decades of arduous work, the laureate list has long featured high-net-worth individuals, most of whom opted to give the funds away.
Among those local recipients is businessman Ronny Douek, who built a fortune in international shipping and defense before devoting himself to philanthropy. Other wealthy laureates include billionaire Professor Amnon Shashua, president and CEO of Mobileye, and Check Point co-founder and CEO Gil Shwed, who received the Israel Prize in 2018 for entrepreneurship and innovation. Businessman Eyal Waldman – founder of Mellanox, which was sold to tech giant Nvidia for over $7 billion – also received the honor. All of these figures fully merited the recognition, and by all accounts, each donated their cash winnings to charity.
