Money isn’t everything, but that doesn’t stop many of us from daydreaming about winning the lottery. But what are your chances of winning the lottery? According to GoBankingRates, the odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are about 1 in 176 million. The odds of winning a Powerball grand prize are 1 in 292,201,338, and the odds of winning $1 million from Powerball are 1 in 11,688,053. If you are playing a single state lottery, your odds of winning are around 1 in 42 million.
According to the CDC, you are 30,000 times more likely to experience a bathroom injury than to win the Mega Millions jackpot. The National Weather Service also reports that you are 250 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to win the lottery. Then again, if you think of it another way, the odds don’t seem so bad: Are you more likely to win the lottery or be born? The truth is that the odds of your own existence are lower than the odds of winning the lottery. The odds of this exact version of you being born are around 1 in 400 trillion. That means that your own birth equates to winning the Mega Millions jackpot 1.33 million times! So maybe you really are pretty lucky.
This visualization from Madison Trust Company showcases the 25 biggest lottery jackpots of all time and the actual lottery cash value after taxes:
What Is the Largest Jackpot in U.S. History?
The biggest jackpot of all time in America was a $2.04 billion Powerball win on Nov. 7, 2022, in California. Who won the $2 billion jackpot? The winner of the greatest jackpot in a national lottery was Edwin Castro, who was the 1-in-292.2 million winner of the biggest lottery jackpot of all time.
How Much Did the $2 Billion Jackpot Winner Actually Get?
Unfortunately, Castro does not quite qualify as a billionaire because he chose to receive his prize in a single reduced sum of $997.6 million. That’s still a bewildering and fantastical amount, though!
Where Was the $2 Billion Lottery Ticket Sold?
The winning ticket for the biggest Powerball jackpot in history was purchased at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California. Store owner Joe Chahayed also received a $1 million prize for selling the ticket.
Here are the top five biggest lottery jackpots of all time and who won them, if known, plus other fun lottery facts:
- $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot on Nov. 7, 2022: Edwin Castro of California took the biggest Powerball jackpot win in history.
- $1.586.4 billion Powerball jackpot on Jan. 13, 2016: This jackpot was split between three tickets sold at a 7-Eleven in Chino Hills, California, Naifeh’s Food Mart in Munford, Tennessee, and a Publix grocery store in Melbourne Beach, Florida
- $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot on Oct. 23, 2018: An anonymous woman purchased the ticket in Greenville, South Carolina. She shared her record Mega Millions jackpot with local charities.
- $1.350 billion Mega Millions jackpot on Jan. 13, 2023: The winner chose to remain anonymous. It was the first jackpot win in Maine and the second-highest Mega Millions lottery win in history.
- $1.337 billion Mega Million jackpot on July 29, 2022: This was the third time the grand prize for Mega Millions surpassed a billion dollars. It was purchased at a Café Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Has There Ever Been a Billion-Dollar Lottery Jackpot?
Absolutely! Both Mega Millions and Powerball have exceeded $1 billion on multiple occasions. The first billion-dollar jackpot win occurred on Jan. 22, 2021.
Can Lottery Winners Choose to Remain Anonymous?
It may come as a surprise that this varies by state: Some require public identification of the winners, while others do not. For example, disclosure laws in California require the California Lottery to share the winner’s full name and the location they purchased the ticket from. In Missouri, your name is safe unless you give the state lottery written consent to release it. In Idaho, your name, the town you live in, where you bought the ticket, and the amount you won are all public record. Winners in Florida do not have the benefit of anonymity, either; those who win $250,000 or more are only except from public disclosure for 90 days after claiming the jackpot prize. In Colorado, your first name and only the first letter of your last name are listed on the state’s lottery website. In New York, Vermont, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, your name and city are public. For Arizona winners, you must win more than $100,000 for your name to remain confidential permanently, but the city and county in which you live are public. States where you can remain anonymous are Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Wyoming.
How Much Are Lottery Winnings Taxed?
Our visualization helps to illustrate how much the lottery is taxed in the U.S. When you win the lottery, you have the option to receive your winnings in a lump sum or installments (typically spread over 29 years). If you take the lump sum, you will likely be pushed into the top tax bracket of 37%. Lottery agencies are generally required to withhold 24% of all winnings over $5,000 — if your winnings put you in a higher tax bracket, you owe the difference between the withholding amount and the total tax. So let’s say you won a $930 million jackpot and took the lump sum. The breakdown would look like this:
- 24% withheld from $930 million = $232,200,000
- Additional amount you need to pay with a 37% tax rate: $111,900,000
- Total prize amount left over = $585,900,000
So how much in taxes do you pay if you win $1 million? You would need to pay around $334,072 in total taxes, making your $1 million lottery win into a $665,928 profit. Probably not enough to retire on, but certainly enough to jump start a self-directed IRA.
The 25 Biggest U.S. Lottery Jackpots of All Time and the Actual Cash Value After Taxes
|
Jackpot + Number of Winning Tickets |
Cash Value (After Taxes) |
Game |
Date and Location |
|
$2.04 billion 1 |
$997.6 million |
Powerball |
Nov. 7, 2022 CA |
|
$1.586.4 billion 3 |
$983.5 million |
Powerball |
Jan. 13, 2016 CA, FL, TN |
|
$1.537 billion 1 |
$877.8 million |
Mega Millions |
Oct. 23, 2018 SC |
|
$1.350 billion 1 |
$724.6 million |
Mega Millions |
Jan. 13, 2023 ME |
|
$1.337 billion 1 |
$780.5 million |
Mega Millions |
July 29, 2022 IL |
|
$1.050 billion 1 |
$776.6 million |
Mega Millions |
Jan. 22, 2021 MI |
|
$768.4 million 1 |
$477 million |
Powerball |
Mar. 27, 2019 WI |
|
$758.7 million 1 |
$480.5 million |
Powerball |
Aug. 23, 2017 MA |
|
$754.6 million 1 |
$407.2 million |
Powerball |
Feb. 6, 2023 WA |
|
$731.1 million 1 |
$546.8 million |
Powerball |
Jan. 20, 2021 MD |
|
$699.8 million 1 |
$496 million |
Powerball |
Oct. 4, 2021 CA |
|
$687.8 million 2 |
$396.2 million |
Powerball |
Oct. 27, 2018 IA, NY |
|
$656 million 3 |
$474 million |
Mega Millions |
Mar. 30, 2012 IL, KS, MD |
|
$648 million 2 |
$347.6 million |
Mega Millions |
Dec. 17, 2013 CA, GA |
|
$632.6 million 2 |
$450.2 million |
Powerball |
Jan. 5, 2022 CA, WI |
|
$590.5 million 1 |
$370.9 million |
Powerball |
May 18, 2013 FL |
|
$587.5 million 2 |
$384.7 million |
Powerball |
Nov. 28, 2012 AZ, MO |
|
$564.1 million 3 |
$381.1 million |
Powerball |
Feb. 11, 2015 NC, PR, TX |
|
$559.7 million 2 |
$352 million |
Powerball |
Jan. 6, 2018 NH |
|
$543 million 1 |
$320.5 million |
Mega Millions |
July 24, 2018 CA |
|
$536 million 1 |
$378.3 million |
Mega Millions |
July 8, 2016 IN |
|
$533 million 1 |
$324.6 million |
Mega Millions |
Mar. 30, 2018 NJ |
|
$530 million 1 |
$345.2 million |
Mega Millions |
June 7, 2019 CA |
|
$516 million 1 |
$349.3 million |
Mega Millions |
May 21, 2021 PA |
|
$502 million 2 |
$252 million |
Mega Millions |
Oct 14, 2022 CA, FL |
Self-directed IRAs afford you much more freedom in what you choose to invest your money in. You can invest in real estate, startups and crowdfunding, and much more.
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