Nicolas Berggruen Honors Ruth Bader Ginsburg At The Berggruen Prize Gala

Photo Credit: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Berggruen Institute
Last night in New York, the Berggruen Institute, founded by philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen, conferred the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy & Culture at the annual Berggruen Prize Gala at the magnificent New York Public Library. The 2019 laureate was Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States, a lifelong trailblazer for human rights and gender equality.

Photo Credit: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Berggruen Institute

The $1 million award is given annually to recognize thinkers whose ideas have profoundly shaped human self-understanding and advancement in a rapidly changing world. This marked the third consecutive year that the Berggruen Prize has been awarded to a woman.

Photo Credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Berggruen Institute

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. It was announced that Justice Ginsburg directed the monetary prize to various charitable/non-profit organizations of her choosing.

Photo Credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Berggruen Institute

Highlights from her statements during her conversation with Razia Iqbal from BBC World Services included:

• “The day a judge loses their impartiality is the day they should step down.”
• “Here I am at 87 years old, and everyone wants to take a picture with me.”
• “Each of the nine justices firmly believe it is our role to leave the bench better than we found it.”
• “One of the things that makes me an optimist is young people.”

Photo Credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Berggruen Institute

Following a cocktail reception in Astor Hall, the program included speeches by Berggruen Prize Jury Chair Kwame Anthony Appiah; Nicolas Berggruen; Berggruen Prize Juror Amy Gutmann; performances by Yuja Wang and Denyce Graves and a conversation between Justice Ginsburg and Razia Iqbal, BBC Newshour Host, which was recorded for BBC World Service Radio and BBC World News TV, and is to be aired on the weekend following the Prize. The conversation was followed by the presentation of the Berggruen Prize trophy – an artwork commissioned by Nicolas Berggruen for its winner, designed by internationally acclaimed artist Cai Guo-Qiang.

Photo Credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Berggruen Institute

An illustrious crowd of guests attending the black-tie gala included: Karlie Kloss, Olivia Wilde, Katie Couric, Al Roker, Deborah Roberts, Nico Tortorella, Arianna Huffington, Diane von Furstenberg, David Foster, Carey Lowell, Campbell Brown, David Gergen, Stephanie Horton, NeueHouse CEO Josh Wyatt, Janet Zucker, Doug Liman, Chris Blackwell, Sir Clive Gillinson, Salman Rushdie, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Evan Spiegel, Julie Cohen and Betsy West, among others.

Photo Credit: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Berggruen Institute