The award of the Onassis Prizes 2023 at London’s Guildhall

More than 350 esteemed guests including ambassadors, leading academics and senior figures from the world of finance, international trade and shipping gathered last night at London’s Guildhall to celebrate the academic achievements of this year’s Onassis Prize Laureates. The Onassis Prizes 2023 were awarded to Professor Darrell Duffie, Professor Marc Melitz, and Professor Siri Pettersen Strandenes at the Banquet for their contributions and achievements in the fields of Finance, International Trade and Shipping respectively.The event, jointly hosted by Anthony S. Papadimitriou, President of the Onassis Foundation; Professor Andre Spicer, Dean of Bayes Business School; and Professor Costas Th. Grammenos CBE, in cooperation with the City of London, welcomed academics and leading figures from each of the Prize categories to celebrate as the 2023 Laureates were awarded their prestigious accolades and accompanying $200,000 grant each.

The Onassis Prize 2023 in Shipping was presented by The Rt. Hon. Vice Admiral Lord Sterling GCVO, CBE, RNR, the Onassis Prize 2023 in International Trade by Professor Elhanan Helpman, Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade, Harvard University, and the Onassis Prize 2023 in Finance by The Earl of St Andrews.

The evening featured speeches from Anthony S. Papadimitriou, Alderman Alastair King and Professor Grammenos CBE, to name just a few, all against the breathtaking backdrop of the historic grade 1 listed landmark of London’s Guildhall.

Anthony S. Papadimitriou, President of the Onassis Foundation and Chair of the Onassis Prizes judging panel, said last night: “We at the Foundation are thrilled to have celebrated our prestigious Laureates this evening in this beautiful location of London’s Guildhall, surrounded by such a wonderful array of distinguished guests. Looking around the room, it gave me great pleasure to see such talented visionaries all coming together to discuss and work towards solving some of the biggest challenges of our time."

Professor Siri Pettersen Strandenes, Norwegian School of Economics (Onassis Prize 2023 in Shipping), said: “Without a challenging and inspiring exchange of thoughts and ideas with co-authors and colleagues, I would not stand here today. I thank members of the Onassis Prizes committee and Dr. Anthony Papadimitriou. I am honoured to receive the Onassis Prize in Shipping for 2023 and would like again to express my gratitude.”

Professor Marc Melitz, Harvard University (Onassis Prize 2023 in International Trade) said: “There’s a metaphor for making progress in academic research that acknowledges the fundamental contributions we rely upon to make our own following contributions: standing on the shoulder of giants. This is such an amazing honour and I am deeply humbled. Thank you to the Onassis Foundation for this award.”

Professor Darrell Duffie, Stanford University (Onassis Prize 2023 in Finance) said: “I am deeply humbled to accept the Onassis Prize in Finance for 2023. Much like the guilds that established this Guildhall, academia is a guild and has been for centuries and to celebrate with you in this incredibly remarkable venue, scholarship of this nature is truly an honour.”