Stan Polovets, Genesis Prize Make History With First Head of State Announced as Laureate

The Genesis Prize Foundation has broken new ground in 2025 by selecting Argentine President Javier Milei as its newest laureate, marking the first time a head of state has received the prestigious $1 million award. This historic choice recognizes Milei’s dual impact as steadfast supporter of Israel and as an economic reformer.

Since its inception in 2013, the prize has honored individuals who exemplify Jewish achievement and values across diverse fields. Under Stan Polovets‘ leadership as co-founder and chairman, The Genesis Prize Foundation has evolved into a transformative force in global philanthropy, leveraging over $50 million in grants for more than 230 nonprofit organizations across 31 countries.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists launched a devastating attack on Israel, murdering over 1,200 people at the Nova Music Festival and in communities in southern Israe, including Kibbutz Nir Oz, marking the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. During the attack, Hamas kidnapped hundreds of innocent civilians, including Argentine citizens, and continues to hold many hostage.

“Since Oct. 7, President Milei has been without a doubt one of Israel’s staunchest supporters,” Stan Polovets stated. “When many allies remained quiet or condemned, pressured and — in some cases — sanctioned Israel, President Milei stood strong with Israel and was its most visible, vocal, and unequivocal supporter.”

In the days after the attack, President Milei visited Israel and designated Hamas as a terrorist organization and ordered a freeze on its assets.

Economic Transformation and Jewish Values

The Genesis Prize Selection Committee also commended Milei for his remarkable success in achieving significant fiscal reforms in just his first year. Taking office amid economic turmoil with 211% annual inflation, he engineered a dramatic turnaround through cost-cutting and strategic fiscal management. His administration achieved Argentina’s first budget surplus since 2008 and reduced monthly inflation to below 3% — the lowest in four years.

Beyond economic reforms, Milei has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to Argentina’s Jewish community. His administration has committed to bringing to justice those responsible for the 1992 and 1994 terror attacks against Jewish and Israeli institutions in Buenos Aires and ordered the declassification of intelligence regarding the unexplained death of Alberto Nisman, the special prosecutor investigating the bombing of Jewish community center, Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina.

Additionally, Argentina held two days of mourning following Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas’s postmortem return to Israel. The Obelisco in Buenos Aires was illuminated in orange to honor their memory, and thousands filled the city street,s singing Israel’s national anthem.

The president’s Jewish journey adds another dimension to his leadership. Though raised Catholic, Milei discovered his Jewish heritage through his grandfather and has embraced Jewish learning and traditions under the guidance of Rabbi Axel Wahnish, whom he later appointed as Argentina’s ambassador to Israel. This spiritual evolution has influenced his governance style, with cabinet meetings often beginning with Torah discussions.

Stan Polovets Discusses the Genesis Prize Foundation’s Decade of Transformative Laureates

Stan Polovets’ vision of recognizing excellence while generating lasting social impact guided the Genesis Prize to reach this historic milestone.

Michael Bloomberg, the inaugural laureate in 2014, established the foundation’s philanthropic tradition of laureates forgoing the prize funds and directing them to charitable causes. Bloomberg initiated the Genesis Generation Challenge, a global competition in which young social entrepreneurs received funding for projects to better the world. In 2015, Oscar winner Michael Douglas followed, channeling his prize toward promoting the inclusion of intermarried families in Jewish life.

“We would like to encourage Jewish organizations to be welcoming and inclusive to all who choose to identify as Jews. While some organizations have stepped forward in this space, we want to encourage many more to do so,” explained Polovets. “We want to show that there are many paths through which one comes to identify and connect as a Jew, and the fewer barriers we place in front of people, the more likely they are to engage.”

Virtuoso violinist Itzhak Perlman, the 2016 selection, directed his prize to support inclusion of those with disabilities, while artist Sir Anish Kapoor’s 2017 award addressed the global refugee crisis. In 2018, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg received a special Lifetime Achievement Award for her groundbreaking legal career. Over $3 million was granted in her honor to organizations dedicated to women’s empowerment.

Robert Kraft’s 2019 selection proved particularly impactful. The New England Patriots owner supplemented his Genesis Prize with a $20 million personal gift to launch the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. Human rights activist Natan Sharansky directed his 2020 Genesis Prize funds to support vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, while filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s 2021 advanced racial and economic justice initiatives.

The foundation honored Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks posthumously in 2021 with a Lifetime Achievement Award, followed by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in 2022, who supported the establishment of the Holocaust Museum of Greece in his native city of Thessaloniki.

The Holocaust Museum of Greece is a groundbreaking international cultural preservation and education collaboration. Located at Thessaloniki’s Old Railway Station — the departure point for 46,000 Jews sent to concentration camps in 1943 — the museum will also commemorate the history of the city’s Jewish community, which had flourished there for centuries.

In addition to The Genesis Prize Foundation’s support, the governments of Greece and Germany are major funders of the museum project, along with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

The project’s multistakeholder approach mirrors The Genesis Prize Foundation’s own evolution in recognizing and amplifying global impact by honoring outstanding individuals and organizations. In 2023, the prize recognized Jewish activists supporting Ukraine, and in 2024, it honored Barbra Streisand as the Tenth Anniversary Laureate and Israeli organizations advocating for hostage release and supporting their families.

President Milei has repeatedly demonstrated his support for Israel. During his February 2024 visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israeli President Isaac Herzog highlighted the strengthened bilateral relationship: “Argentina was the first Latin American country to recognize the State of Israel in February 1949. Because of my dear friend Javier Milei, relations are now stronger than ever.”

In 2025, President Milei pledged to direct his award funds toward initiatives promoting freedom and liberty worldwide, continuing the foundation’s tradition of leveraging the prize for broader impact.

The selection of Milei represents how, under Polovets’ guidance, The Genesis Prize Foundation continues to demonstrate how philanthropy can advance both Jewish values and universal aspirations for freedom, justice, and human dignity.

“The vision of the prize has not changed. As we go forward, we always expect to create an element of surprise in the choice of the next laureate. We are going to emphasize that a disruptive approach can bring new, creative ideas to the surface,” stated Stan Polovets. “As innovators, we have to be prepared to take risks and think outside of the usual approach if we are going to maximize visibility and engage the unaffiliated.”