With its larger than life jackpots, the Powerball has raised the stakes for the entire lottery market. It holds the world record for the largest jackpot in history, which was worth a groundbreaking $2.04 Billion.
Since then, more and more people from all over the world have become Powerball players, which has made this lottery the most popular out there. In this article, we will tell you all about their record-breaking prizes, as well as the rest of the largest Powerball jackpots to date. Take a look!
Top Powerball Jackpots Quick Review
| November 7, 2022 | California | $2.04 billion |
| October 11, 2023 | California | $1.765 billion |
| January 13, 2016 | Tennessee, Florida, California | $1.586 billion |
| April 6, 2024 | Oregon | $1.326 billion |
| July 19, 2023 | California | $1.08 billion |
1. $2.04 BILLION – November 7th, 2022
While it was initially announced at $1.9 billion, the jackpot of November 7, 2022 was actually raised to $2.04 billion! The drawing was also slightly delayed due to one of the participating lottery needing more time to sort tickets out.
It took 41 drawings for this top Powerball jackpot to reach this amount. The winning numbers were: 10-33-41-47-56/10.
This winner becomes the biggest Powerball winner of all time, but also the biggest lottery winner in the world! Indeed, he can boast of having won a record jackpot!
Edwin Castro, the name of this lucky winner, came to claim his winnings on February 14, 2023, more than 3 months after winning this extraordinary prize!
2. $1.765 BILLION – October 11th, 2023
As Powerball jackpots kept on growing bigger and bigger, a group of lucky players scooped $1.765 Billion on October 11, 2023.
It was the 4th time in history that a Powerball ticket scooped a jackpot over $1 Billion! It is also the largest win by a group of players.
The group has chosen to remain anonymous but according to California Lottery law, no big prize can be claimed anonymously.
Theodorus Struyck came forward and claimed the prize in the name of the group. We learnt that he purchased his winning ticket just a few hundred meters from his home in Frazier Park.
We should mention that it was the first time ever that Powerball saw 2 consecutive jackpots being won as they exceeded the billion-dollar threshold.
3. $1.586 BILLION – January 13th, 2016
Beyond any shadow of a doubt, 2016 was a great year for the biggest lottery in the world.
After numerous rollovers, the jackpot had finally exceeded the billion-dollar threshold, which was a first in the history of the lottery.
As you can imagine, everybody had Powerball fever considering the outstanding amount of this fabulous jackpot.
In fact, the word “Powerball” ended up being no.1 on America’s Most Googled Words list for 2016 because everybody wanted a chance to become a billionaire overnight.
Eventually, the $1,586,000,000 pot was won by three very lucky ticket holders who guessed all 5 of the main numbers and the Powerball. They each got an equal share of the fantastic prize, which made them multimillionaires.
4. $1.326 BILLION – April 6th, 2024
A group of players secured $1.765 billion on October 11, 2023, following 35 unsuccessful Powerball draws.
However, it wasn’t until March 2024 that it was revealed a group owned the winning ticket!
In California, lottery winners must disclose their identity; they can’t claim anonymously or through a trust. As a result, a man named Theodorus Struyck, known as Theo, stepped forward as the group’s representative.
Described as a modest family man, Theo enjoys spending time with his grandchildren. Despite facing financial challenges, including a second mortgage contracted in 2015, Theo emerged as one of the winners. Neighbors believe the jackpot found the perfect recipient in Theo!
5. $1.08 BILLION – July 19th, 2023
A single ticket from LA, California hit $1.08 Billion on July 19, 2023.
The ticket, purchased at the Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown LA, had all the winning numbers (07-10-11-13-24/24).
The jackpot had been rolling over since April 19 and had 38 draws with no winner until this Californian player won big.
The owner of this top Powerball jackpot collected the prize as a lump-sum payment and received $558.1 Million (before taxes), after waiting nearly 8 months to do so. Details about this winner are scarce as she chose to not reveal anything about herself except her name: Yanira Alvarez.
6. $842.4 Million – January 1st, 2024
Powerball set a new record in 2024! A fortunate person hit this top Powerball jackpot on January 1st!
This was the first time this happened since the game began in 1992! No one had ever won Powerball on the first day of a new year before.
The lucky winner from Michigan got $842 Million. His ticket was the only one with all the winning numbers: 12-21-42-44-49/ 01.
In Michigan, a lottery winner has up to 1 year to claim the prize after the draw.
7. $768.4 MILLION– March 27th, 2019
The Powerball 1st prize jumped to a whopping $768.4 Million on March 27th, 2019. While it was initially announced at $750 million, the amount was increased due to massive ticket sales.
At the time, it became the second top Powerball jackpot in the entire history of the lottery but also the largest win by a single player as it was scooped by a single winner, Manuel Franco from Wisconsin.
This lucky winner was only 24 years old and he was planning to stay a millionaire for the rest of his life.
When he came forward to claim his prize he told the press “I’m sure you’ll never see me as like one of the people who went bankrupt or broke or anything like that. I plan to live my life normal as much as possible”.
Manuel has been playing Powerball regularly since he was 18, but on March 27th, he felt extremely lucky, so he bought $10 worth of tickets. That’s all it took to win this $768 Million top Powerball jackpot. He chose the cash payout on his win, which was worth $477 Million. This left him with $326 Million after taxes.
He was planning to use the money to do some good in the world, but first and foremost, to secure his future. But before all that, Manuel wanted to take a break and let everything sink in. With $326 Million in the bank, he had a lot of planning to do.
8. $758 MILLION– August 23rd, 2017
Lottery history was made on August 23rd, 2017 when Mavis Wanczyk from Massachusetts scooped a jackpot worth $758 Million.
At the time, it was the largest amount that had ever been won on a single ticket.
Ms. Wanczyk chose the cash value option worth $480.5 Million and she instantly quit her job because, with a jackpot like this, the possibilities are endless!
9. $754.6 MILLION – February 6th, 2023
One single ticket purchased in Auburn, Washington matched all six numbers to enter the top Powerball jackpots on February 6th, 2023.
Becky Bell, the owner of the winning ticket declared that she couldn’t believe her luck at first as she “never won more than $20” in her life. She is now set for life after becoming one of the biggest female Powerball winners of all time!
Here are the winning numbers for that amazing drawing: 05-11-22-23-69/ 07.
10. $731.1 MILLION – January 20th,2021
A group of Marylanders had a huge surprise right at the dawn of 2021. The numbers on their ticket matched the winning numbers of the Powerball draw of January 20th and this brought them $731.1 million! The largest lottery win in Maryland history at the time.
The winners introduced themselves as “The Power Pack” upon the jackpot claiming moment in order to keep their identity away from the public. However, this might prove difficult if they are locals of the small town of Lonaconing, where their winning entry was purchased.
They claimed their prize of $546.8 Million in cash. After taxes, the group was set to earn about $366.6 Million.
A release from the Maryland State Lottery & Gaming Control Agency said that the person from “The Power Pack” who bought the ticket “checked it about a half dozen times” before telling the rest of the winners “this can’t be right; I’m going to work.”
11. $699.8 MILLION – October 4th, 2021
40 consecutive Powerball drawings made no big winner. But, the drawing of October 4 stopped this rollover streak as a lucky ticket owner, Scott Godfrey from California matched the winning numbers.
This entitled him to a jackpot of $699.8 Million.
When claiming this mouth-watering jackpot, two months later, the lucky winner decided to cash it as a lump sum.
The cash option brought him a total of $496 Million before taxes. The federal tax of 24% cut off about $119 Million , leaving the him with a newly found fortune of about $377 Million.
12. $687.8 MILLION – October 27th, 2018
After a series of rollovers, the Powerball jackpot drew worldwide attention with its $687.8 Million jackpot of October 27th, 2018. Eventually, the pot was won that night. There were two tickets with the winning number combination. One of them was sold in New York and the other in Iowa. Each of the winners scooped an equal share of the prize, which amounted to $343.9 Million.
Lerynne West of Redfield, Iowa was the first of the two players to claim her share. She chose the cash payout, which was worth $198.1 Million before taxes. Mrs. West said that she was intending to share her Powerball windfall with her family and friends, but also with people in need. She also set up the Callum Foundation in honor of one of her grandsons who was born prematurely and passed away. The foundation was one of Mrs. West’s dreams and now that she finally had the finances for it, she could turn it into reality. Another one of her initial plans was to buy a big car and travel with her six grandsons.
The second lucky winner was Robert Bailey from Manhattan, New York. He was 67 years old and a retired federal employee with a true passion for the lottery. He said that a family member gave him a set of lucky numbers and he had been playing them week after week for 25 years! Mr. Bailey said that he also had a ritual.
He used to get his entries from four different stores, but before the big Powerball draw of October 27th, he got his tickets from a deli in Harlem. It was raining outside, “so I went to the deli to get out of the rain and I bought my ticket there.” It certainly seems that it was a good move for Mr. Bailey because it brought him $343.3 Million.
He was in no rush to spend his money but said that he was very happy and that he was planning to make good investments for him and his family. He also wanted to buy his mother a new house and to travel. Mr. Bailey added that he wanted to continue playing the lottery. “I will continue to play my numbers until this train runs out”.
13. $632.6 MILLION – January 15th, 2022
After a rollover streak of 40 drawings, this top Powerball jackpot was finally won on January 15, 2022 as two tickets matched all six numbers and split $632.6 Million. Each ticket was worth an annuitized $316.3 Million and $225.1 Million cash respectively, prior to taxes.
After taxes, with the lump sum option the Californian winner, Orlando Zavala Lozano, scooped $142.4 Million. Not bad for a win coming from a single Powerball entry purchase!
On the other hand, the lovely couple, Tammy & Cliff Webster from Oneida, Wisconsin only scooped $125.1 Million as the state also gets a 7.65% tax. However, they were over the moon with their win and declared that they couldn’t believe it at first.
14. $590 MILLION – May 18th, 2013
Gloria C. MacKenzie of Zephyrhills was the sole winner of a Powerball top jackpot worth $590 Million. At the respectable age of 84, Mrs. MacKenzie’s life took a very fortunate turn, as she scooped one of the biggest lottery prizes out there at the time.
She had an established agreement with her son, Scott MacKenzie, to share any lottery win they may get. It was Mrs. MacKenzie herself who bought the winning ticket at a Publix grocery store, so it seems that she had the inspiration to choose the lucky numbers.
15. $587.5 MILLION – November 28th, 2012
This amazing top Powerball jackpot was won on November 28, 2012 by two ticket-holders in Arizona and Missouri. Matthew Good from Phoenix bought his winning lottery ticket in a local food store and he eventually opted for the $192 Million cash payment.
The other half of the $587.5 Million jackpot was won by Cindy and Mark Hill from Missouri. They have three sons and a 6-year old daughter whom they adopted from China.
The entire family happily attended the press conference for their jackpot win and they were thrilled about their win.
Top Powerball Jackpots per State
Since its start in 1992, Powerball offered many top jackpots that changed lives. However, there are some states that seem to be luckier than others.
As you can see, most top Powerball jackpots come from Indiana (39).
Despite that, we should mention that 11 of these came from New Jersey. This means that players from New Jersey took 2.7% of the top Powerball jackpots.
Moreover, these jackpots are some of the largest ones. Read more in our page on NJ Powerball winners.
FAQ on the Top Powerball Jackpots
Edwin Castro won the biggest Powerball jackpot ever! He won $2.04 Billion on November 7, 2022. This is, to date, the biggest lottery win by a single winner, in the world!
Yes! Manuel Franco is the luckiest winner: he scooped $2.04 Billion on Nov. 7, 2022. This is the only $2 Billion lottery prize ever awarded, but there are quite a few top Powerball jackpots that exceeded the Billion dollars. Check out more on this page.
Indiana saw 39 top Powerball jackpots over the years; it makes this state the one with the most Powerball winners.
With such a breathtaking list of top Powerball jackpots, this game has no match in the lottery industry! These prizes are simply larger than life and Powerball's main contenders could only hope to come close to its grandeur. So, don't miss out on your chance to become a Powerball millionaire! Put in your ticket and who knows what it will bring you! Good luck!