Watch: Nobel Prize winner wakes up co-winner to share news
The winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics were announced to the world on Monday, however, one of the recipients of the honor only heard about the win from a late-night knock on his door. American economist Paul R Milgrom was woken up in the middle of the night by co-winner Robert B Wilson, who had reached his doorstep to share the news.
Both Milgrom (72) and Wilson (83) are professors at Stanford University and live on the same street. After the winners were declared, Wilson walked over to Milgrom's house at 2:15 am to share the news. When Wilson and a woman (reportedly his wife) rang the doorbell, Milgrom's wife received a security camera notification on her phone. The clip has been shared by Stanford University.
In the clip, which Milgrom's wife viewed from Stockholm live on her phone, shows Wilson knocking on Milgrom's door. "Paul, it's Bob Wilson," he is heard saying, "You won the Nobel Prize." Reacting to the incredible news, Milgrom is heard saying, "Yeah, I have? Wow!" "They're trying to reach you, but they cannot. They don't seem to have a number for you," Wilson added.
The #NobelPrize committee couldn't reach Paul Milgrom to share the news that he won, so his fellow winner and neighbor Robert Wilson knocked on his door in the middle of the night. pic.twitter.com/MvhxZcgutZ
— Stanford University (@Stanford) October 12, 2020
The duo was awarded "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats." They "used their insights to design new auction formats" for goods/services difficult to sell in traditional ways. Their discoveries have benefitted sellers, buyers, and taxpayers globally, the Swedish Academy said. They will share the prize sum of 10 million Swedish kronor (about $1.1 million or Rs. 8.3 crore).
