Largest Powerball Jackpots of All Time
If you know anything about Powerball you probably already know that it's the biggest lottery in the world. This blockbuster draw game has held the record for biggest jackpot ever since 2016 when awarded an unprecedented $1.586 billion. However, as that prize was split between 3 winning tickets, rival lottery Mega Millions still held the record for largest prize actually awarded to a player. As the years flew by after that it started to seem like that record was unbreakable, but on 7 November 2022 Powerball finally did it again, not only breaking the previous record but also shooting past the $2 billion boundary with a $2.04 billion jackpot! Unbelievably, this prize was won by a single lucky ticket, meaning Powerball has grabbed yet another record away from Mega Millions.
Our list of the top 10 biggest Powerball jackpots
Interested in the full story of the largest Powerball jackpots of all time?
The following is our up-to-date list of the 10 biggest Powerball jackpots. Read on for all the fascinating details of these incredible prizes and the winners who walked away with them.
10. Orlando Zavala Lozano; Tammy and Cliff Webster - January 5, 2022 - $632.6 Million
This draw was incredible for many reasons, producing over 3 million non-jackpot winners all over the country including 14 million-dollar prizes.
For two winning tickets, though, this prize was worth much more, as Orlando Zavala Lozano from California and Tammy and Cliff Webster from Wisconsin matched all the winning numbers to score prizes worth $225 million in cash before taxes.
9. Lerynne West; Robert Bailey - October 27, 2018 - $687.8 Million
Winning the jackpot always requires luck, but these two winners must have been extra lucky.
Lerynne West from Redfield, Iowa left her Powerball ticket on the floor of her sister's pickup truck for several days before noticing that she had matched all the winning numbers. Thankfully, the ticket was still there, entitling her to a lump sum cash payment of $198.1 million.
For Robert Bailey, a retired New York postal worker, luck came in the form of his lucky numbers finally paying off. "A family member gave me the numbers over 25 years ago and I faithfully play them," said Bailey, who confirmed that he would continue faithfully playing those same numbers even after his big win.
8. Scott Godfrey - October 4, 2021 - $699.8 Million
This prize ended a record 4 months of rollovers that saw Scott Godfrey as the lone winner of the biggest jackpot ever won in the state of California.
Godfrey said that he won his prize after buying 10 Quick Picks at a Morro Boy supermarket. Going for the lump sum prize amount, he received $496 million before federal taxes.
7. The Power Pack - January 20, 2021 - $731.1 Million
This powerful Powerball prize ended up in the hands of a group with a powerful name: The Power Pack!
This anonymous group purchased their ticket in Lonaconing, Maryland and chose to receive the prize as a lump sum worth around $366.6 million after taxes.
According to Maryland Lotto officials, the winners planned to use the money to help their families and communities "for generations to come."
6. Becky Bell - February 6, 2023 - $754.6 Million
It didn't take long after Powerball's incredible $2.04 billion jackpot for the powerful lottery to deliver another jackpot for the ages.
After 33 winless rollovers, the top prize reached a historic $754.6 million before being won by a single lucky ticket purchased by Boeing employee Becky Bell in Washington state. Bell pocketed the cash sum of $309 million after taxes.
The lucky numbers? 5, 11, 22, 23, 69 and Powerball 7; while the Powerplay multiplier was 2x.
5. Mavis Wanczyk - August 23, 2017 - $758.7 Million
Mavis Wanczyk might very well be one of the most famous lottery winners out there.
When the Powerball jackpot fell on August 23, 2017, it set records for the second biggest jackpot ever awarded and the highest annuitized jackpot and cash value prize ever won by a single ticket.
Because of this, no one expected to see or hear directly from the winner for quite some time, if at all, as winners of such big prizes tend to either collect anonymously or spend as much time as possible preparing and planning for going public.
That's why it was such a shock when Wanczyk, a hospital worker from Massachusetts, held a press conference shortly after the draw - permanently cementing her as one of the most well-known jackpot recepients ever.
4. Manuel Franco - March 27, 2019 - $768.4 Million
Manuel Franco from Wisconsin summed up his win best at a press conference, saying: "To win feels something like a dream and I feel like at any moment I might wake up. I just can't believe an ordinary guy like me would ever be in this position."
He also had one big tip for all the lottery players out there: "The two dollar ticket you buy is worth the chance to change your life forever. It certainly has changed my life and I look forward to the future."
3. Anonymous - July 19, 2013 - $1.08 Billion
On Wednesday, July 19, the $1.08 billion jackpot was finally own after several rollovers. The identity of the winner is currently unknown, but it is confirmed that the ticket was bought in California! This jackpot became the third biggest win in Powerball history when lucky numbers 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and Powerball 24 came up.
2. Lisa and John Robinson; The Nickel 95 Trust; Marvin and Mae Acosta - January 13, 2016 - $1.586 Billion
In 2015, Powerball made a series of rule changes they said would hopefully bring about a billion-dollar jackpot by 2020. Little did they know it would only take a few months to see that dream come true, as it did on January 13, 2016.
While this record-breaking $1.586 billion jackpot did fulfill Powerball's wishes and remained the biggest top prize in the world for 6 whole years, it did not all go to a single winner as the prize was split across three lucky tickets.
The winners included John and Lisa Robinson from Munford, Tennessee - respectively an Air Force veteran and a staffmember of a dermatology clinic. The two were so excited about their win that they participated in a televised interview before they'd even claimed their winnings.
Another portion of the win was claimed, less publicly, by The Nickel 95 Trust, the trustee of which was Maureen Smith from Melbourne Beach, Florida.
The final winners were Marvin and Mae Acosta, a couple from southern California who kept the world in suspense by waiting seven months after the win before coming forward to claim it.
Who was the biggest Powerball winner?
After all that, the biggest question remains: who was the biggest Powerball winner?
1. Edwin Castro - November 7, 2022 - $2.04 Billion
The current Powerball and world record, this jackpot fell after 3 months of suspensful rollovers that ended in climactic draw so highly anticipated that the results had to be delayed by hours to allow for more time to process sales. That left the whole world anxiously waiting all night and into the next morning for news of who won the biggest top prize in history.
After months of speculation, the winner finally came forward in February of 2023, although barely anything other than his name, Edwin Castro, was actually revealed.
Castro was quoted as being "shocked and ecstatic" about his tremendous win, and promised that California's public school system would also benefit from his prize.
Castro purchased the remarkable winning ticket in California, with the winning numbers 10, 33, 41, 47, 56, and the Powerball 10.
Who will win the next highest Powerball jackpot?
Those were the 10 highest Powerball jackpots of all time, but with no limit to how high the jackpot could potentially grow the real question is who will be the next lucky winner on this list.
With theLotter Colorado, Coloradans can purchase their tickets online for a chance at joining the winners on this page. Powerball is drawn Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights, so make sure to get your entries in on time for a chance to make Powerball history!