These Are The Largest Lottery Jackpots In History & Billion-Dollar Prizes Are Super Rare
Winning a multi-million-dollar lottery is rare enough, but you have to be extremely lucky to take home a billion-dollar prize, because there have only been a handful of those jackpots in all of history.
U.S. lottery jackpots typically go much higher than Canadian ones, and can top hundreds of millions of dollars if they go several draws without a winner.
But a billion-dollar prize? That doesn't happen often.
In fact, there have only been five billion-dollar jackpots in U.S. lottery history.
Still, there are a few lucky individuals — and groups — who can say they won one of the biggest jackpots in the history of Mega Millions and the Powerball.
Here are the seven largest lottery prizes ever:
#1: $2.04 Billion Powerball:
The world's largest-ever sum won in a lottery was a $2.04-billion prize claimed by a single ticket in the Powerball on November 7, 2022.
It was the first-ever lottery prize to pass the $2-billion mark, with a cash prize just under $1 billion.
#2: $1.586 Billion Powerball:
The world's second-largest-ever sum won in a lottery was worth over $1.5 billion and was split between three different winners.
On January 13, 2016, three California, Florida and Tennessee residents became the winners of the gigantic sum; best of all, they got to keep all the money.
Florida and Tennessee don't have a state income tax, while California doesn't deduct taxes from lottery winnings on tickets bought in-state, reported AP.
#3: $1.537 Billion Mega Millions:
On October 23, 2018, one lucky resident from South Carolina became the winner of the world's largest lottery jackpot in history to be won by a single ticket at the time.
To say he was lucky is an understatement.
The winner, who decided to remain anonymous, actually let someone ahead of them in line to purchase a Mega Millions ticket, scoring themselves the winning ticket.
The commission's executive director, Hogan Brown, said in a statement that the winner "marvels at how every decision made that day brought the winner to the store, at that very moment."
"A simple act of kindness led to an amazing outcome."
#4: $1.337 Billion Mega Millions:
On Friday 29 July, a lucky ticket-holder in Illinois became a billionaire overnight after hitting the third-largest jackpot in U.S. history, worth $1.337 billion.
The person’s identity was not revealed, but Mega Millions said there was only one winning ticket.
It was the second-highest jackpot ever awarded in Mega Millions history.
#5: $1.05 Billion Mega Millions:
A four-member Detroit lottery club won the third-highest lottery jackpot amount of $1.05 billion on January 22, 2021.
After a tax reduction, the winners took home an immediate lump sum of $557 million.
An attorney for the club came out with a statement on behalf of the winners saying, "This kind of money will impact the families of our club members for generations to come. We plan to stay humble and pay it forward through charitable giving in southeast Michigan."
#6: $768.4 Million Powerball:
On March 27, 2019, a $768.4 million lottery jackpot was won by 24-year-old Manuel Franco from Wisconsin.
At the time of the win, it was the third largest lottery win in the history of the U.S., reported ABC News.
"It feels like a dream," Franco said during a press conference after his win. "It was amazing; my heart started racing, blood pumping. I screamed for about 5 or 10 minutes. My dad cried a lot."
#7: $758.7 Million Powerball:
The seventh-highest jackpot worth $758.7 million was won by 32-year-old Mavis L. Wanczyk, a hospital worker from Massachusetts, on August 23, 2017.
She quit her job pretty much as soon as she won. "I called and told them I will not be coming back," Wanczyk recalled during a news conference.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
