The biggest lottery jackpot in history is $2.04 billion, won on a single Powerball ticket sold in California on November 7, 2022. Every jackpot in the top 10 comes from the two US games, Powerball and Mega Millions, and six of the ten were won in 2023 or later. This list ranks them by advertised jackpot, with the cash value that winners actually receive.
The advertised number is an annuity paid over 30 years, while the cash option is roughly half of it before taxes. The top 10 now needs more than $1.3 billion to get in. Our old list started at $399.4 million, so every jackpot from the 2012 to 2015 version has dropped out.
Biggest lottery jackpots ever won
| Rank | Jackpot | Game | Draw date | Where sold | Cash value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2.04 billion | Powerball | November 7, 2022 | California | $997.6 million |
| 2 | $1.817 billion | Powerball | December 24, 2025 | Arkansas | $834.9 million |
| 3 | $1.787 billion | Powerball | September 6, 2025 | Missouri and Texas | $820.6 million |
| 4 | $1.765 billion | Powerball | October 11, 2023 | California | $774.1 million |
| 5 | $1.602 billion | Mega Millions | August 8, 2023 | Florida | $794.2 million |
| 6 | $1.586 billion | Powerball | January 13, 2016 | California, Florida, Tennessee | $983.5 million |
| 7 | $1.537 billion | Mega Millions | October 23, 2018 | South Carolina | $877.8 million |
| 8 | $1.35 billion | Mega Millions | January 13, 2023 | Maine | $724.6 million |
| 9 | $1.337 billion | Mega Millions | July 29, 2022 | Illinois | $780.5 million |
| 10 | $1.326 billion | Powerball | April 7, 2024 | Oregon | $621 million |
The top 10, from #10 to #1
10. $1.326 billion on Powerball (April 7, 2024)
One ticket sold in Oregon matched all six numbers after a run of rollovers pushed the jackpot past $1.3 billion. Cash value: $621 million before taxes.
How we valued it: the advertised annuity jackpot, with the cash option as the real payout.
9. $1.337 billion on Mega Millions (July 29, 2022)
A single winning ticket was sold in Illinois. The cash option came to about $780.5 million.
Valued at the advertised jackpot, with the cash value shown for comparison.
8. $1.35 billion on Mega Millions (January 13, 2023)
The jackpot rolled through the winter until a single ticket won on January 13, 2023. It was the first jackpot-winning ticket ever sold in Maine, and the cash option was $724.6 million.
Valued at the draw-result annuity amount, with the listed cash value.
7. $1.537 billion on Mega Millions (October 23, 2018)
One ticket sold in South Carolina took the prize, and the winner stayed anonymous under state law, claiming it on March 5, 2019. Taking cash meant $877.8 million.
Valued at the advertised jackpot, with the cash value from the claim details.
6. $1.586 billion on Powerball (January 13, 2016)
Three tickets matched all six numbers, sold in California, Florida and Tennessee, so each ticket was worth about a third. The combined cash value came to $983.5 million, or roughly $327.8 million per ticket.
Valued at the full advertised jackpot, split three ways for the per-ticket cash figure.
5. $1.602 billion on Mega Millions (August 8, 2023)
A single ticket sold in Florida won on August 8, 2023. Cash value: $794.2 million before taxes. It remains the biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever won.
Valued at the official annuity announcement, with its published cash value.
4. $1.765 billion on Powerball (October 11, 2023)
One ticket sold in California matched all six numbers on October 11, 2023. Cash value: $774.1 million. It was the second largest jackpot ever until September 2025.
Valued at the advertised annuity, using the cash value from the official result.
3. $1.787 billion on Powerball (September 6, 2025)
Two tickets split the prize, one sold in Missouri and one in Texas. Each could take an annuity of about $893.5 million or a lump sum of $410.3 million before taxes.
Valued at the full advertised jackpot, with the per-ticket cash option from the announcement.
2. $1.817 billion on Powerball (December 24, 2025)
A single ticket sold in Arkansas won on Christmas Eve 2025, the second largest lottery jackpot ever. Taking cash meant $834.9 million before taxes.
This is the newest entry in the top 10, and it knocked every older jackpot down a rank.
How we valued it: official annuity announcement, converted at the published lump sum.
1. $2.04 billion on Powerball (November 7, 2022)
One ticket sold at a gas station in Altadena, California, won the largest jackpot in history. The buyer, Edwin Castro, waited more than three months to claim and took the lump sum. After taxes it came to about $628.5 million, and he later bought a $25.5 million home in Los Angeles.
The cash value of $997.6 million before taxes is still the largest single-winner lump sum on record.
How we valued it: annuity jackpot first, then cash value before and after taxes as reported.
How has the top 10 changed since our last version?
The old list ended in 2016 and started at $399.4 million. Since then the jackpot floor to enter the top 10 has tripled. Two things drove that: Powerball moved to a 69-ball format in 2015 with odds of 1 in 292,201,338, which lets jackpots roll longer, and Mega Millions moved to $5 tickets in April 2025.
The newest big jackpots sit just outside the top 10. A Powerball jackpot of $1.04 billion was won in Illinois on August 12, 2026, with a cash value of $450.5 million.
Do other countries have jackpots this big?
No. Jackpots elsewhere are smaller because the games have fewer players. EuroMillions had a record win of EUR 250 million on August 19, 2025, with the ticket sold in France. Italy’s SuperEnalotto produced a single-ticket jackpot of EUR 371.1 million in February 2023, and Eurojackpot hit its largest win of EUR 120 million on October 13, 2026, in Germany. European jackpots are generally paid tax-free as a lump sum.
For the two US games, you can check current jackpots and results on the official Mega Millions and Powerball sites.
Keep reading
- 15 things that change once you get rich: what sudden wealth does to everyday life
- The 10 stages of going from broke to wealthy: the slower route, step by step
FAQ
What is the biggest lottery jackpot ever won?
$2.04 billion, won on a single Powerball ticket sold in California on November 7, 2022. The cash value was $997.6 million before taxes.
What is the biggest Mega Millions jackpot?
$1.602 billion, won on August 8, 2023, by a single ticket sold in Florida. The cash value was $794.2 million.
How much of a jackpot do winners actually receive?
The advertised amount is an annuity paid over 30 years. The lump sum cash option is about half of it, for example $834.9 million on the $1.817 billion jackpot, and it is taxed before it reaches the winner.
What are the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot?
About 1 in 292 million per play. Mega Millions has similar jackpot odds.
Which jackpot is the newest in the top 10?
The $1.817 billion Powerball jackpot won in Arkansas on December 24, 2025. It ranks second, behind the 2022 record.
Has a lottery jackpot ever been won by more than one ticket in the top 10?
Yes. The $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot in 2016 was won by three tickets, and the $1.787 billion Powerball jackpot in September 2025 was split by two tickets.
How we put this list together
We ranked each jackpot by the advertised annuity amount at the draw and checked each against the official game announcement or draw result. Cash values, draw dates and the states where tickets were sold come from the same official results.
Last updated: October 2026.
