After receiving $1 million as the recipient of 2022 Genesis Prize to the Holocaust Museum of Greece, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla donated that prize money back to the museum being built in his home city of Thessaloniki.
Bourla was born in Thessaloniki and is a member of the city’s Jewish community, whose roots go back to the 15th century when Jews fleeing persecution from Spain settled in the city.
The annual Genesis Prize has been dubbed the “Jewish Nobel” by Time magazine and honours extraordinary individuals for their outstanding professional achievement, contribution to humanity and their commitment to Jewish values and the State of Israel.
The Pfizer CEO was awarded the honour in Jerusalem on Wednesday at a gala event that was attended by Israeli dignitaries. In attendance at the gala were prominent representatives of the Jewish diaspora and leading members of the global medical community.
President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, praised Bourla for his work on the Pfizer vaccine and his determination through a difficult global climate.
“He believed in the vaccine, and invested every ounce of himself in realizing what seemed at the time a far-fetched fantasy,” said President Herzog.
“The vaccine was developed in record speed, utilizing the technology of tomorrow to successfully hold back a devastating pandemic.”
Bourla humbly accepted the award, expressing his gratitude for a recognition that he never sought out and said he was honoured to be amongst such great artists, philanthropists and figures who shine a light on Jewish people’s contributions.
“Honored because I never set out to be famous, and I never imagined that I would one day be up here with the illustrious nominees and past awardees – artists, philanthropists, and statesmen and states women who show the world the best that the Jewish people have to offer,” he says.
“This is not my award – it belongs to all Pfizer colleagues who worked tirelessly in the middle of a global pandemic to make the ‘impossible possible’ and give the world a chance to return to normalcy.”
Source: Ekathimerini
