Nobel Prize shrinks by 20% due to crisis

The Stockholm-based Nobel Foundation has slashed the value of the 2012 prize due to the economic difficulties it has faced in the crisis.
The money given to Nobel winners this year will be 8 million Swedish kronor (around $1.1 million) each, against 10 million, kronor or $1.4 million in the past. The measure comes as an effort to safeguard the long-term capital according to the organization.
The Prize’s capital is based on a donation by 19th century philanthropist and inventor Alfred Nobel. It needs smart management in the crisis in order to secure the prestigious award’s future, the Nobel Foundation executive director Lars Heikensten says.
"The Nobel Foundation is responsible for ensuring that the prize sum can be maintained at a high level in the long term. We have made the assessment that it is important to implement necessary measures in good time," Heikensten says.
The last time the Nobel Prize lowered the sum of the prize was in 1949.
This year The Nobel Foundation will traditionally awards people in six categories, including the Peace Prize, Literature and Chemistry.