Wertheim Laureate Prize Launches, Turning Nobel Honors into $3 Million in Directed Philanthropy

Graphic by Robin Doyle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 6, 2026. 5:00 PM

New independent program from the Dr. Herbert Wertheim Trust for Humanity will invite eligible 2026 Nobel laureates in medicine, plus eligible laureates from the past five years, to direct charitable funds and to inspire the next generation at Wertheim institutions and affiliates worldwide

MIAMI — Yesterday, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In light of that announcement, the Dr. Herbert Wertheim Trust for Humanity today announced the Wertheim Laureate Prize, a program that has been in planning for several years. The program will invite each year's eligible laureates in Physiology or Medicine to direct $1 million in philanthropic capital to the causes they believe will do the most good. It will also invite them to share their knowledge with students, physicians and researchers through a international lecture and visitation program at Wertheim institutions and affiliates across the world.

The Trust was founded by Dr. Herbert ("Herbie") Wertheim, the optometric physician, inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist known as "the catalytic philanthropist." A member of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame for pioneering ultraviolet- and blue-light-absorbing tint protection for eyeglass lenses, Dr. Wertheim is a recipient of the Horatio Alger Award and has received many academic accolades, including honorary doctorates from several universities. He has contributed more than $300 million to Florida higher education alone and is a signatory of The Giving Pledge. The Wertheim Laureate Prize extends his lifelong commitment to scientific discovery, preventive healthcare, medical innovation and education.

The Trust will invite a founding cohort of thirteen eligible laureates. They include the three 2026 laureates, Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, honored yesterday for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. The cohort also includes the ten scientists honored from 2021 through 2025: David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian (2021); Svante Pääbo (2022); Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman (2023); Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun (2024); and Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi (2025). Over five years, the 2026 laureates will be invited to direct $1 million each, and the 2021–2025 laureates $250,000 each, to the qualified charitable organizations they choose.

The Wertheim Laureate Prize rests on a simple idea: the scientists the world has just honored for transforming medicine and physiology are among the best judges of where philanthropy can make the greatest difference. Through lectures and campus visits, the laureates will also meet the students, professors, young researchers and clinicians who will make the next generation of discoveries, sharing not only their science but the curiosity and persistence behind it.

Inspired by Scripps Research's laureates

The idea for the Wertheim Laureate Prize grew out of Dr. Wertheim's work at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, where he has served on the Board of Directors since 2021. Through that role, he has come to know two of the institute's Nobel laureates: Ardem Patapoutian, who received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and K. Barry Sharpless, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2001 and again in 2022. Seeing their science, and the influence they have on students and colleagues, convinced Dr. Wertheim that Nobel laureates have more to offer than their discoveries alone. They also bring the judgment to know where support will do the most good, and the ability to inspire the next generation in person.

"Spending time with Ardem and Barry at Scripps showed me what happens when a great scientist walks into a room of young researchers," said Dr. Herbert Wertheim, the Forbes 400 billionaire known for his signature red hat and founder of the Dr. Herbert Wertheim Trust for Humanity. "The Nobel Prize honors what these scientists have already given humanity. The Wertheim Laureate Prize asks what they will give next. No one is better qualified to direct philanthropy in medicine and science than the men and women the world has just honored, and our students, faculty, and researchers will be the richer for hearing them."

In August, Dr. Wertheim broke his own charity auction record with a $40 million winning bid for Ferrari Luce "Chassis 0," the first production example of Ferrari's first fully electric car, at RM Sotheby's Monterey auction, with all proceeds benefiting The Ferrari Foundation. His previous record was the $26 million he paid for a one-off Ferrari Daytona SP3 at the same auction in 2025.

Lectures and visits will take place internationally across Wertheim institutions and affiliates. These include the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University, the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida, the Herbert Wertheim College of Business at Florida State University, the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego, the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science at UC Berkeley, the Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute, and others across the globe.

The Dr. Herbert Wertheim Trust for Humanity will extend invitations to all thirteen eligible laureates following this week's Nobel announcements. The first lectures are expected in 2027. In future years, the Trust plans to expand the program, extending invitations to eligible Nobel laureates in Chemistry, Physics and Economic Sciences.

About Dr. Herbert "Herbie" Wertheim

Known as "the catalytic philanthropist," Dr. Herbert "Herbie" Wertheim is an optometric physician, inventor and founder of Brain Power Incorporated, and a member of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame for inventing UV- and blue-light-absorbing eyeglass lens protection. A Horatio Alger Award recipient and Giving Pledge signatory, he has contributed more than $350 million to Florida and national higher education and philanthropic institutions. His name is carried by colleges, schools and institutes at Florida International University, the University of Florida, Florida State University, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley and Baptist Health South Florida. 

The Wertheim Laureate Prize is an independent philanthropic initiative of the Dr. Herbert Wertheim Trust for Humanity. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or administered by the Nobel Foundation, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, or any other Nobel Prize-awarding institution. Nobel Prize® is a registered trademark of the Nobel Foundation.

Media contact: Katherine McMillan, katherine@drherbertwertheim.com