[USA Today] WASHINGTON ‐ Add a prestigious $1 million "thinkers" award to Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's fame and fortune.The 2019 Berggruen Prize for Philosophy & Culture is given annually to "thinkers whose ideas have profoundly shaped human self-understanding and advancement in a rapidly changing world."
Ginsburg, 86, who has served 26 years on the Supreme Court and survived four bouts with cancer, was chosen from more than 500 nominees, later winnowed down to five. She is the fourth recipient of the prize and the third woman.
The organization said Ginsburg will direct the prize money to charitable or non-profit organizations of her choice.
"I am delighted the jury has chosen to honor such a prolific leader in the field of jurisprudence," said philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen, founder and chairman of the Berggruen Institute, which seeks to shape political, economic, and social institutions.
"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."