Top 10 Biggest Mega Millions Jackpots

With some of the biggest jackpots in lottery history, it's no wonder that people love playing Mega Millions so much. After all, what lottery fan doesn't dream of one day winning a top prize worth millions, hundreds of millions, or even billions? If that describes you, you'll probably be interested to read all about the lucky few who've won Mega Millions's largest jackpots to date. Read on for our list of the top 10 biggest Mega Millions jackpots ever - who knows, maybe one day you'll be on this list too!

Our list of Mega Millions's biggest winners

So who are Mega Millions's biggest winners of all time? Over the years, some of the biggest wins went to a single lucky ticket, some winners split their prizes, and some wins went to groups who'd pooled together to beat the jackpot odds. Some wins even went to anonymous players we still know practically nothing about years later. What connects all these players is that they each overcame spectacular odds of 1 in over 300 million to win an unbelievable prize that would change their lives forever.

10. Richard Wahl - March 30, 2018 - $533 Million

As the saying goes, "first is the worst, second is the best." Second was definitely best for New Jersey's Richard Wahl, who won the Mega Millions jackpot with his second-ever ticket.

CNN reported on Wahl's generous spirit, as he revealed that he would share his good fortune with friends, family, and charities. As he put it, "It's not only life-changing money for me, but I want it to be life-changing money for others."

Wahl did have one big gift for himself in mind, however: a 1963 Corvette!

9. Warren D, LLC - July 8, 2016 - $536 Million

When Warren D. and his family stopped for gas one day, they had no way of knowing it would be most of the important stops of their lives.

All it took was a lucky Mega Millions ticket purchase at the gas station for this Indiana family to rake in over half-a-billion dollars!

Winning a $536 million jackpot in the July 8, 2016 draw, the family took home a cash payout of $271 million after taxes.

As printed in the Courier Journal, the family remained anonymous so that they could remain in Indiana while "[protecting] the safety and well-being of their children."

8. 11 California Co-workers - July 24, 2018 - $543 Million

It was the more the merrier for these 11 Californian employees who pooled together to purchase tickets for the July 23, 2018 draw.

After the group won the $543 million jackpot, Roland Reyes stepped up to collect the $320.5 lump sum (before taxes) on behalf of his 10 friends.

NBC News reported that the 11 intended to continue working their day jobs as usual, saying "We want to keep our jobs. We love that company. We love what we've built there. We have a good time and want to stay together."

7. Ira Curry and Steve Tran - December 17, 2013 - $648 Million

Christmas came a week early for two men who were the first to benefit from Mega Millions rule changes intended to boost jackpot amounts.

Those rule changes worked so well that 21 rollovers rocketed the jackpot all the way to $648 million - setting a new world record that would stand for the next 4 years.

Of the 2 winners in the December 17, 2013 draw, the first to come forward was Ira Curry of Stone Mountain Georgia, who had used family birthdays to pick his winning numbers.

After Curry came Steve Tran of San Jose, California. Tran took longer to make himself known, as he'd almost forgotten to check his winning ticket as it sat waiting in a stack of old tickets.

Once split between them, the cash prize totalled $173 million before taxes.

6. Merle and Patricia Butler, The Three Amigos, and Anonymous - March 30, 2012 - $656 Million

This top jackpot ended up in the hands of quite a few people, as there were three winning tickets, two of which belonged to married couples and one of which belonged to an employee pool.

Of the married couples, one pair bought their ticket in Kansas and were able to stay anonymous thanks to the state's privacy laws.

The other couple were Merle and Patricia Butler of Red Bud, Illinois - who walked away with $111 million in cash after taxes.

As for the third ticket, it fittingly belonged to The Three Amigos - a group of 3 Maryland public school employees who split their $218.6 million share.

5. Wolverine FFL Club - January 22, 2021 - $1.05 Billion

This incredible billion-dollar jackpot took 37 rollovers to reach $1.05 billion. As can be read in CNN, the sole winning ticket was purchased by a Michigan lottery club going by Wolverine FFL Club.

The identities of the group's members remain a secret, as their $557 cash payout after taxes (netting just under $140 million per participant) was accepted by a lawer on their behalf. At the press event, he read out a prepared statement that said "This kind of money will impact the families of our club members for generations to come. We play to stay humble and pay it forward through charitable giving in southeast Michigan."

4. Anonymous - July 29, 2022 - $1.337 Billion

In a year of record jackpots that saw rival lottery Powerball award a $2.04 billion jackpot, Mega Millions also stepped up with a massive $1.337 billion top prize.

Breaking the billion-dollar barrier for the 3rd time in its history, the prize was won by a single ticket purchased in Illinois after one lucky player correctly guessed the winning numbers 13, 36, 45, 57, 67, as well as the Mega Ball number 14. Those numbers were enough to net the winner $780.5 million in cash.

3. Anonymous - January 13, 2023 - $1.348 Billion

Unlucky Friday the 13 turned out to be anything but unlucky for a lucky player from Maine, who became the first player from the state to win a Mega Millions jackpot.

Correctly guessing all 5 regular numbers 30, 43, 45, 46, and 61, as well as the Mega Ball 14 to win an eye-watering $1.348 billion that Mega Millions reported was worth $723.5 million in cash before taxes.

This prize is not only the 2nd biggest in Mega Millions history - it's also the 4th largest lottery prize of all time!

2. Anonymous - October 23, 2018 - $1.537 Billion

So who was the second biggest Mega Millions winner?

The truth is kind of anti-climactic: we don't exactly know.

The winner of this chart-topping $1.537 billion jackpot chose not to go public, so we don't know much about them other than the fact that the lucky ticket was purchased in South Carolina, matching the winning numbers 5, 28, 62, and 50, plus the Mega Ball 5.

This historic drawing went down on October 23, 2018 and CBS News estimated that the prize's cash value at $913 million.

Who was the biggest Mega Millions winner?

1. Anonymous - October 23, 2018 - $1.537 Billion

So who was the biggest Mega Millions winner of all time?

The winner of this record breaking $1.602 billion jackpot remained anonymous, but what we do know is it was one lucky ticket from Florida got to celebrate the Summer of 2023 with a record-sized MEGA jackpot.

The winning numbers in the draw were the white balls 13, 19, 20, 32, and 33, and the gold Mega Ball 14.

Who will be the next top Mega Millions winner?

Will we ever see your name on this list? Only time will tell!

In the meanwhile, you can try your luck at joining these fabulous winners by purchasing your tickets online at theLotter Colorado today!