Lottery jackpots have grown from eye-catching to almost unimaginable. The first billion-dollar jackpot was won in 2016; just six years later, a single Powerball ticket carried a headline prize of $2.04 billion — the largest lottery prize ever won anywhere in the world. Every figure below is a real, officially confirmed jackpot, with the advertised annuity value shown at the time of the draw. No rumours, no inflated claims — just the verified record book.
The 10 biggest lottery jackpots ever won
1. $2.04 billion — Powerball, 7 November 2022
The world record, and it is not close. After 40 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, a single ticket sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California matched all six numbers. The winner, Edwin Castro, came forward in February 2023 and took the cash option of about $997.6 million before taxes. Because California does not allow lottery winners to remain anonymous, his name became public — a reminder that the biggest win in history also came with the brightest spotlight.
2. $1.765 billion — Powerball, 11 October 2023
Less than a year after the record, Powerball produced its second-largest jackpot ever. A single ticket sold at a market in Frazier Park, California matched every number. The prize was claimed in 2024 by a group of players — one of several record jackpots won by pooled tickets, which is worth remembering the next time your office runs a syndicate.
3. $1.602 billion — Mega Millions, 8 August 2023
Mega Millions’ all-time record. One ticket sold in Florida took the entire $1.602 billion jackpot — the largest prize in that game’s history and proof that the two big American games trade the record back and forth.
4. $1.586 billion — Powerball, 13 January 2016
The jackpot that broke the billion-dollar barrier for the first time. Three tickets — sold in California, Florida and Tennessee — split the $1.586 billion prize, each worth roughly $528.8 million in annuity terms. It remains the largest split jackpot in history and the win that proved jackpots could reach ten figures.
5. $1.537 billion — Mega Millions, 23 October 2018
A single ticket sold in South Carolina won Mega Millions’ second-biggest jackpot. The winner chose to stay anonymous, which South Carolina law permits — a sharp contrast with the publicity that followed the California record-holder.
6. $1.348 billion — Mega Millions, 13 January 2023
Exactly seven years to the day after the $1.586 billion Powerball split, Mega Millions produced a $1.348 billion jackpot won by a single ticket in Maine — the biggest lottery prize ever won in New England.
7. $1.337 billion — Mega Millions, 29 July 2022
A single ticket in Illinois took this summer jackpot, which at the time was the second-largest Mega Millions prize ever. It was eventually claimed anonymously through a trust, a common strategy for large winners seeking privacy.
8. $1.08 billion — Powerball, 19 July 2023
Another California single-ticket win. The $1.08 billion jackpot continued California’s remarkable run as the state that has produced more billion-dollar winners than any other — a function of its huge player base rather than any luckier numbers.
9. $842.4 million — Powerball, 1 January 2024
A New Year’s Day jackpot won by a single ticket in Michigan. It is a useful benchmark: a prize that would have been a world record a decade ago now sits ninth on the all-time list, showing how fast the ceiling has risen.
10. $768.4 million — Powerball, 27 March 2019
Rounding out the top ten, a single ticket in Wisconsin won $768.4 million in March 2019. The winner came forward within weeks and opted for the cash payout.
How do jackpots get this big?
Record jackpots are built by rollovers. Every drawing without a jackpot winner adds the unclaimed prize money to the next jackpot, and the growing headline figure drives more ticket sales, which grows the next jackpot further. The $2.04 billion Powerball run needed 40 drawings — roughly three months — to reach its peak. Game designers also tune the odds deliberately: when Powerball and Mega Millions made their jackpots harder to win (Powerball’s odds are 1 in 292,201,338; Mega Millions’ are about 1 in 302,575,350), they made long rollover streaks more likely, and billion-dollar jackpots became a regular event rather than a once-a-decade shock.
Annuity vs. cash: what the headline number really means
Every jackpot figure above is the advertised annuity value — the total paid out as 30 graduated annual payments over 29 years. Almost every major winner instead takes the cash option, a single lump sum that is typically 45–55% of the headline figure. Edwin Castro’s $2.04 billion jackpot, for example, carried a cash value of about $997.6 million before taxes. Federal taxes then take a further large share, and some states tax winnings on top of that. The advertised number is real money, but it is money paid over three decades — the cheque a winner actually receives is far smaller, though still life-changing.
What about Europe?
The American games dominate the global record book because of their enormous player pools, but Europe has its own giants. EuroMillions jackpots start at €17 million and are capped at €250 million, and the game has paid its maximum capped jackpot. Italy’s SuperEnalotto, with its notoriously long odds, has produced a reported record payout of €371.1 million — the largest single lottery prize in European history by some measures. The pattern is the same everywhere: long rollover streaks plus huge player pools equal historic jackpots.
What happens after a record win?
Winning is only the start of the story. Large winners typically assemble a team — a lawyer, a tax adviser and a financial planner — before claiming. Many states allow winners to claim through a trust or legal entity to protect their privacy; some, like California, do not. Winners generally have a limited claim window (in the US this is commonly 180 days to a year depending on the state, always printed on the ticket), and unclaimed prizes eventually expire. The sensible advice repeated by every lottery commission is the same: sign the ticket, keep it somewhere safe, and get professional advice before you claim.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest lottery jackpot ever won?
$2.04 billion, won on a single Powerball ticket in California on 7 November 2022. The winner took a cash option of about $997.6 million before taxes.
Has anyone ever won more than $2 billion?
No. The $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot of November 2022 remains the largest lottery prize ever won anywhere in the world.
Do jackpot winners get the full advertised amount?
No. The advertised figure is the annuity value paid over 30 years. Winners who take the cash option typically receive roughly half the headline amount before taxes.
Which lottery has produced the most billion-dollar jackpots?
Powerball and Mega Millions have each produced multiple jackpots over $1 billion. The record list above shows Powerball holding the top spots, with Mega Millions close behind.
Are these jackpot figures adjusted for inflation?
No — they are the nominal advertised values at the time of each draw, which is how lotteries and record-keepers report them.
Conclusion
The history of record jackpots is really a history of rollovers: long droughts, swelling headlines, and eventually a single ticket — or a lucky split — that ends the run. The $2.04 billion Powerball record may stand for years, or the next 40-draw streak may already be building. Either way, the numbers above are the verified facts behind the headlines, and they are a useful reminder of the most important statistic of all: the odds of winning the jackpot remain hundreds of millions to one, no matter how big it gets.
You must be 18 or over to play. Please play responsibly — set a spending limit and never chase losses.