Russian to return Nobel winner’s medal
MOSCOW – Russia’s richest man said he bought James D. Watson’s Nobel Prize medal at Christie’s in order to return it to the scientist.
Alisher Usmanov, a metal and telecommunications tycoon worth $15.8 billion according to Forbes magazine, said in remarks carried by Russian television Tuesday that when he learned Watson was selling the medal for charity he decided to purchase it and give it back to him.
Watson’s 1962 Nobel prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA sold at Christie’s in a New York auction for $4.7 million, a world auction record for any Nobel.
Associated Press
