The 18 Biggest Lottery Jackpot Wins of All Time

A Powerball player won a $685 million jackpot last weekend, making them one of the biggest prize winners of all time.

The largest lottery jackpot ever played for was more than twice that amount and could have made an individual winner among the world's wealthiest people, with a bank balance to rival Michael Jordan and Kanye West.

In the United States, the biggest lottery games, Powerball and Mega Millions, are in a league of their own when compared to other lotteries around the world. But unlike in the U.S., European jackpots are often tax-free, meaning winners take home the full sum.

Here are the 18 biggest lottery wins ever...

18. €209 / $243 (SuperEnalotto)

One lucky player won €209 million when their ticket matched all the numbers in the August 2019 SuperEnalotto draw in Italy. It is the second highest lottery win in Europe.

According to lottery officials, the winning ticket was purchased for €1 ($1.16) at a local shop Bar Marino in Via Cavour 46, Lodi, near Milan.

SuperEnalotto jackpots are never capped and winnings are taxed at 20 percent on the excess over 500 euros.

17. €210m / $244m (Euromillions)

EuroMillions holds the record for the biggest lottery win in Europe: €210 million.

A ticket holder from Switzerland scooped the entire top prize on February 26, 2021.

The new millionaire has remained anonymous but Euromillions has confirmed that the winner purchased their ticket online in German-speaking Switzerland and that he or she purchased two tickets at a total cost of CHF 7 ($7.56).

The EuroMillions tickets are available in nine European countries. France, Spain and the U.K. were the first nations to offer the game when it first started in February 2004, and eight months later Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland joined.

16. $536m (Mega Millions)

A winning ticket in the estimated $540 million Mega Millions drawing was sold in Indiana. One ticket matched all six numbers on July 8, 2016.

At the time, the jackpot was the third largest in the history of the game.

15. $543m (Mega Millions)

A single ticket sold in California matched all six numbers drawn on July 24, 2018, with the grand prize at $543 million prize ($320,543,095 cash option).

Roland Reyes claimed the incredible prize on behalf of the winning ticket pool, "but he didn't show up alone. In total, each of 11 office pool members (ranging in age from 21 to 60) showed up to the Lottery's East Bay District Office in Hayward the day after the July 24 draw."

The ticket was purchased at Ernie's Liquors in San Jose, California, and it was the largest jackpot in California lottery history—until last weekend.

14. $559.7m (Powerball)

On January 6, 2018, a jackpot worth $559.7 million was scooped in New Hampshire.

The winner wanted to remain anonymous but the state does not permit lottery winners to claim their prizes anonymously. The woman began legal proceedings to keep her identity private and the case made it to the Supreme Court, which ruled in her favour.

She eventually claimed the full prize through a trust. The Good Karma Family 2018 Nominee Trust claimed the $559.7 million jackpot and chose the lump sum payout of $352 million.

13. $564m (Powerball)

There were three Powerball winners for the $564 million jackpot of February 2015: Marie Holmes from North Carolina; Andrew Weber, who claimed it on behalf of a trust in Texas; and an anonymous player in Puerto Rico.

12. $587.5m (Powerball)

Two players from Arizona and Missouri won the $587.5 million jackpot in November 2012. Matt Good from Pheonix said he purchased his ticket in a food store. He chose the lump-sum payout for his share of the prize, which amounted to $192 million after taxes were paid.

The owners of the second part of the jackpot were Cindy and Mark Hill of Missouri. They also opted for the cash payout on their share of the jackpot and cashed in $192 million.

Dubbed "the Hillionaires," the couple donated money to local causes in Camden Point, purchasing land for a wastewater treatment plant and helping fund a new fire and ambulance

Mayor Kevin Boydston later said. "They are giving back to the community, just like they said they would," he explained.

11. $590.5m (Powerball)

Gloria Mackenzie from Florida became the oldest Powerball winner at 84 years old when she was the sole winner of the $590.5 million Powerball jackpot on May 18, 2013.

At the time, it was the largest jackpot in Powerball history and she took home about $278 million after taxes.

Mackenzie split the winnings with her son, Scott, who helped her buy the winning ticket. But six years later she filed a lawsuit alleging that he and his financial advisor (a local radio show host) mismanaged her winnings, costing her about $10 million.

10. $648m (Mega Millions)

Two winning tickets bought by Mega Millions players in California and Georgia won the $648 million prize in December 2013.

Ira Curry, aged 56 at the time, purchased one of the winning tickets. She selected the cash option, which amounts to $173,819,742.50 before taxes for each jackpot winner.

9. $656m (Mega Millions)

On March 30, 2012, Mega Millions made history with the world's largest prize in any jackpot game to that date: $656 million. The jackpot was split by 3 winning tickets in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.

8. $685m (Powerball)

Last weekend's $685 million Powerball jackpot was the eighth largest advertised jackpot ever won.

The winning ticket was reportedly sold at the Albertsons on 730 Quintana Road, Morro Bay, California. The winner is yet to be identified, however, according to California Lottery's winner's handbook, the winner's full name will be a matter of public record.

7. $687.8m (Powerball)

On the draw of October 27, 2018, two ticket-holders from New York and Iowa, received an equal share of the jackpot amounting to $343.9 million.

6. $731.1m (Powerball)

A single ticket from Maryland scooped $731.1 million, the first jackpot of 2021, on January 20. This jackpot entered the Hall of Fame of Powerball's largest jackpot.

It was also the first time that both the U.S. Powerball and the Mega Millions offered jackpots of more than $700 million at the same time.

5. $758.7m (Powerball)

Powerball's third largest jackpot, even though at the time in August 2017, it was the largest single win of a jackpot in history.

Mavis Wanczyk, then aged 53, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, took home a cash lump sum of $480.5 million. The first thing on her to do list was to call her employer to say she wouldn't be coming back.

4. $768.4m (Powerball)

Manuel Franco from Wisconsin, is the biggest Powerball winner of all time.

At only 24 and after playing regularly since he was 18, Manuel won $768.4 million on March 27, 2019. He is also one of the youngest Powerball winners.

The draw was the second largest jackpot in Powerball history.

3. $1.05 Billion (Mega Millions)

The $1.05 billion jackpot of January 2021 is the largest prize ever won in Michigan, and third-largest prize won in the United States.

It was only the second time the game surpassed the $1 billion threshold.

An Oakland County lottery club claimed the prize. The Wolverine FLL Club chose to receive it as a one-time lump sum payment of about $776 million. The club received about $557 million after tax.

2. $1.537 Billion (Mega Millions)

Mega Millions joined the billion-dollar club on October 23, 2018, with a $1.537 billion jackpot, the second time ever that any lottery prize passed the billion dollar mark.

Mega Millions holds the record for the world's largest lottery prize won on a single ticket, and a lucky ticket holder in South Carolina claimed the lottery jackpot: $1.537 billion ($878 million cash).

1. $1.586 Billion (Powerball)

Powerball holds the world record for the largest prize ever awarded in the lottery. In January 2016 the advertised jackpot stood at $1.586 billion. It was the first time in the history that a lottery prize passed the $1 billion threshold.

The Powerball jackpot was split between three winning tickets in California, Florida, and Tennessee.

John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tennessee, were the first Powerball jackpot winners to come forward and even went live on the Today show on NBC to announce they were the winners of a third of the $1.58 billion jackpot. Their share of the prize amounted to almost $530 million and they chose the lump sum payout worth $327.8 million.

Maureen Smith, then aged 70, and her husband, David Kaltschmidt, 55, from Melbourne Beach, Florida, set up a trust called the Nickel 95 Trust to manage their finances. Like the Robinsons, they also decided to go with the $327.8 million cash payout on their prize.

Mae and Marvin Acosta from Chino Hills, California, came forward six months after the January draw and said that they wanted to donate most of the money to a Trust and to charities.