Ruth Bader Ginsburg wins $1 million award for championing human rights
Ruth Bader Ginsburg has long championed human rights. Now, the 86-year-old’s decades of service have earned a nonprofit of her choosing $1 million.
The Supreme Court associate justice won the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy & Culture for her contributions to social justice and general equality, the prize jury announced Wednesday.
Known in some circles as the Notorious RBG, the feminist trailblazer, cancer survivor and octogenarian athlete was selected from a list of more than 500 nominees who’ve made cultural and ethical advances. But ultimately, it was Ginsburg’s storied career that won her the honor.
“By grit and determination, brains, courage, compassion and a fiery commitment to justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg rose from modest beginnings to become one of the most respected, and most beloved, jurists of our time,” prize founder Nicolas Berggruen said in a statement.
Ginsburg is the fourth Berggruen Prize honoree since its inception in 2016, and the third woman to win the award. Berggruen, a billionaire philanthropist, founded the awards through the Berggruen Institute to honor pioneers making political, social and economic advances that shape the world.
Berggruen cited her notable work during and before her tenure as a Supreme Court justice, including founding the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union and co-writing the first law textbook on gender discrimination.
Ginsburg has made it clear she doesn’t plan on leaving the bench anytime soon. In an address this week, given during the recess before the Supreme Court takes on a groundbreaking LGBTQ case, she said her pancreatic cancer diagnosis has given her a renewed “zest for life.”
Oh, and she still does push-ups every day.
