Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States is the winner of the 2019 Berggruen Prize for Philosophy & Culture. The $1 million award is given annually to thinkers whose ideas have profoundly shaped human self-understanding and advancement in a rapidly changing world. Justice Ginsburg will direct the monetary prize to charitable or non-profit organizations that she designates.

Justice Ginsburg was selected from more than 500 nominees and a shortlist of five, which included some of the world’s most renowned thinkers from various fields including social science, global justice, animal rights, and bioethics. Since its inception in 2016, the Berggruen Prize has been awarded to four outstanding thinkers, three of them women.

“It is a true honor to have Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the recipient of this year’s Berggruen Prize,” stated Institute Founder and Chairman Nicolas Berggruen. “I am delighted the Jury has chosen to honor such a prolific leader in the field of jurisprudence. Throughout her career, Ginsburg has used the law to advance ethical and philosophical principles of equality and human rights as basic tenets of the USA. Her contributions have shaped our way of life and way of thinking and have demonstrated to the world the importance of the rule of law in disabling discrimination.”