Let's be real here: the odds of hitting a massive lottery jackpot are pretty much laughable for commoners like you and me. But hey, a guy can dream, can't he? Speaking of dreaming big, let me walk you through the biggest lottery jackpots, prizes, and wins ever won that'll make your eyes pop out.
And finally, the jackpot will absolutely shatter all lottery records. In November 2022, some incredibly lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it) person called Edwin Castro in California landed the Powerball motherload of $2.04 billion! That's "billion" with a capital 'B'! I don't have the mathematical skills to count that many zeroes. Whoever won this is going to need teams of accountants and financial advisors to keep tabs on that obscene amount of money.
You thought the previous ones were mind-boggling? Hold on to your hats! October 2023 saw a single Powerball winner in California hit an earth-shattering $1.765 billion jackpot. At this point, I've lost the ability to comprehend how much money that is. Needless to say, this person will be able to buy a private island or three.
Fresh off the press, this recent $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot from August 2023 takes the third spot. A single, insanely fortunate winner from Florida snagged the entire pie under the name "Saltine Holdings LLC." That's one salty playground taunt to the rest of us losers still dreaming of millions.
And just when you thought it couldn't get any more ludicrous, here's a Powerball jackpot from 2016 that totaled $1.586 billion. Yes, you read that right'. This record-setting prize was split between winners in California, Florida and Tennessee.
The couple from Tennessee, John, and Lisa Robinson, proceeded to live out every working-class person's fantasy by quitting their jobs and flaunting their $327.8 million share on national TV as if we needed more reasons to envy them.
Kicking off the list with a casual $1.537 billion prize. Just your average, run-of-the-mill billion-dollar jackpot. This Mega Millions bonanza from October 2018 was smugly won by a single ticket holder in South Carolina. While the rest of us scratch our heads, wondering how taxes work, this mysterious winner casually strolled in to claim their $878 million lump sum. The audacity!
Moving right along to January 2023, where a singular person in Maine struck gold by winning a $1.348 billion Mega Millions jackpot. What are the odds? This is pretty much a perfect example of "from rags to riches" because even after taxes, this winner pocketed over $400 million. The American Dream feels awfully one-sided sometimes.
Since having over a billion dollars is basically the new $500 million, someone in Illinois needs to enlighten the rest of us on what they plan to do with their $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot from July 2022. After waiting for nearly 2 months, two winners graciously claimed their prize and likely bought their own private jet to spend their newfound fortune in.
Now we have a cool $1.05 billion Mega Millions prize from January 2021 that went to 4 lucky clients in Michigan. Yes, this jackpot was actually split between four winning tickets because why should just one person hoard all that wealth? How very democratic of them!
Hot off the presses, someone in Los Angeles must have been chugging luck potion because they managed to nail the $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot from July 2023. After removing a third for taxes, this winner is still sitting pretty on a casual $351 million lump sum. I can barely comprehend having that much money. My mind would literally short-circuit.
Now we have 24-year-old Manuel Franco winning a casual $768.4 million in the Wisconsin Powerball back in March 2019. As a kid barely out of college, his biggest challenge was probably deciding whether to spend endlessly or just hoard it all in a Scrooge McDuck-style vault. You know, relatable young adult problems.
Moving right along to August 2017, when Mavis Wanczyk from Massachusetts delightfully scooped up a $758.7 million Powerball jackpot. The 53-year-old played it smart - she promptly quit her job the very next day. Can't say I blame her! If I ever defied all odds to win that much, you'd have to roll me out of the office.
Rounding out the list, this time is a seemingly paltry (and I use that term lightly) $731.1 million Powerball prize that some lucky individual in Maryland struck in January 2021. While nowhere near billion-dollar territories, I'd definitely take that giant pile of money any day of the week. Heck, I'd take 0.1% of it and call it a day!
In October 2018, the Powerball fairies blessed two separate winners - one in New York and another in Iowa - with a cool $687.8 million to split. That's $343.9 million each, which is still enough to buy a private island or three to live out your Gilligan's Island fantasies if you're into that sort of thing.
We'll kick things off with Gloria Mackenzie, an 84-year-old grandmother who must've been putting the "grand" in grandma when she pocketed a cool $590.5 million from a 2013 Powerball drawing. The Florida resident took home about $278 million after taxes, which is still an obscene amount for anyone, let alone an elderly retiree living off social security checks.
In February 2015, this $564 million Powerball prize was actually divided between not one, not two, but three incredibly fortunate winners from North Carolina, Texas, and Puerto Rico. I can't even wrap my head around how they decided to split that amount. Maybe they settled it over a game of rock-paper-scissors?
Moving right along to 2018, when a woman from New Hampshire remarkably won $559.7 million in the Powerball draw. What makes her story even better is that she waged a legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court just to retain her anonymity after the epic win. My respects to her for going that extra mile to protectively clutch her riches.
So this single California resident was doing the Lord's work in July 2018 by pocketing a $543 million Mega Millions jackpot. The 11 coworkers who pooled funds for the ticket pulled off the ultimate American dream - winning big and immediately quitting their jobs. Knowing my luck, that would never happen to me. I'd inevitably miss work the next day after partying too hard!
But let's return stateside to admire the $536 million Mega Millions haul from July 2016 where - you guessed it - someone in good old Indiana struck it richer than their wildest dreams. At the time, it was the third-largest jackpot in the game's history. I'd be lucky to win $5 on a scratch ticket!
Let's talk about the $494 million Mega Millions prize from October 2022 that was conveniently split between two winners - one in California and one in Florida. The Florida winner, Pamela Baker from Bonita Springs, landed her staggering $126 million share just weeks after her town was ravaged by Hurricane Ian. Now, that's what you call a glow-up!
Moving right along to January 2018, when 20-year-old Shane Missler decided to put his Christmas money to good use and became one of the youngest Mega Millions jackpot winners ever. The Port Richey, Florida native scooped up a $451 million prize worth $281 million after taxes. At least he had a solid head start on his retirement fund!
In March 2014, this $414 million Mega Millions jackpot had to be split between winners in Florida and Maryland. The couple in Florida, Raymond Moyer and Robyn Collier, earned themselves a cool $115 million payday at literally the perfect time - two months after Moyer lost his job and two years after Collier filed for bankruptcy. Talk about an incredible reversal of fortunes!
An Ocala, Florida woman, Sheryll Goedert, decided to be the ultimate multi-tasker in January 2020 - not only did she help claim a $396 million Powerball jackpot on behalf of a local law firm, but she pocketed a $277 million lump sum for herself in the process. As they say, heroes get remembered, but lottery winners never die!
Rounding out the list is James Stocklas, the Senior District Judge who kicked back and bought a Powerball ticket while visiting the Florida Keys in March 2016. His spur-of-the-moment decision paid off to the tune of $292 million, or $191 million after taxes were cracked. It looks like someone will be taking a very long, very luxurious vacation!
We'll kick things off with the $286 million Powerball prize from June 2021, which some incredibly fortunate soul in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, claimed through "The Love You More Trust." More like "Love to Make You More Jealous with My Ridiculous Fortune" Trust, am I right? I can barely afford to love myself most days.
Not to be outdone, someone in the Tampa area managed to nail a $235 million Powerball jackpot just months prior in March 2021. The winner was identified as Thomas Yi from Land O'Lakes, who no doubt said "Yi!" to a multi-million dollar lump sum payment after taxes. Talk about having the last laugh.
While we're in Europe, we might as well discuss the March 2021 Euromillions drawing, where some incredibly fortunate Swiss player online matched all the numbers to win €210 million (roughly $244 million at the time). At what point do you just become numb to having that much money? I'd be constantly pinching myself.
But enough about Florida's luck - let's head across the pond to Italy, where some anonymous player won a staggering €209 million (around $243 million) in the Superenalotto back in August 2019. Imagine just casually stopping into a local bar and dropping just €1 for a ticket that yields the second-largest lottery prize in European history. Absolute insanity.
Well, there you have it - top lottery winners who basically got launched into a whole new financial stratosphere. The rest of us can only dream about falling into that kind of ludicrous wealth. Unless any of you lucky ducks out there have a spare million or two, can you spare a broke guy like me?
