The Biggest Lottery Winners in US History

The biggest lottery winners in US history are a small group of ordinary people who bought a ticket at a gas station or a grocery store and walked away with sums most of us can’t picture. The record still belongs to Edwin Castro, who won a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot on a ticket sold in Altadena, California, on November 7, 2022. He took the cash option instead: $997.6 million before taxes.

Since then, the list has kept growing. In September 2025, two tickets split a $1.787 billion Powerball prize. In 2023, a single Florida ticket took a $1.602 billion Mega Millions jackpot. Each of these wins came with a name, a claim date, and a public paper trail — and, in several cases, a story that kept going long after the check cleared.

Below is what actually happened to some of the biggest lottery winners on record, based on lottery announcements, court rulings, and reporting from outlets including CNN, the Associated Press, NBC News, and CBS News. No invented dialogue, no guesses about what anyone was thinking — just the documented record.

The biggest lottery winners in US history, ranked

Here are the largest single US jackpots on record, with the advertised annuity amount and where the ticket was sold.

One thing worth knowing up front: those headline numbers are annuity values paid out over decades. Nearly every winner on this list took the smaller lump sum instead, and every one of them owed federal tax on it.

Edwin Castro: the single biggest lottery win on record

California Lottery officials named Edwin Castro as the sole winner of the $2.04 billion jackpot on February 14, 2023 — more than three months after the drawing. As CNN reported, Castro asked officials not to release biographical details, but California’s public disclosure law requires the winner’s name and the retailer to be made public.

Castro chose the lump sum of $997.6 million. CBS News later reported on property records showing he purchased a Hollywood Hills home for roughly $25 million and a second home in Altadena, the same community where the winning ticket was sold.

The win also brought a lawsuit. In 2023, a man named Jose Rivera sued Castro, claiming the ticket had been stolen from him by a former landlord. NBC News covered the filing; the case was dismissed in 2024 after a Los Angeles County judge pointed to lottery rules stating that players are solely responsible for securing their tickets and that whoever holds a winning ticket is the presumptive owner. The California Lottery stood by its vetting throughout.

The 2025 Powerball split between Missouri and Texas

The second-largest prize on the list of biggest lottery winners was never one person’s. On September 6, 2025, two tickets matched all six numbers on a $1.787 billion Powerball jackpot — one sold at a QuikTrip in St. Louis, Missouri, the other at a Big’s convenience store in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Each ticket was worth $893.5 million as an annuity or $410.3 million in cash before taxes. Powerball announced that both winners took the cash. The Missouri Lottery said its winner, whose name was not disclosed, set a record for the largest prize ever claimed in that state. Powerball lists the Texas claimant as Seven Bridges Revocable Trust.

Mega Millions’ biggest lottery winners

The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won was $1.602 billion, from the August 8, 2023, drawing. The ticket came from a Publix supermarket in Neptune Beach, Florida, and the store received a $100,000 bonus commission for selling it.

The prize was first claimed on September 27, but Florida law temporarily shields the identity of winners claiming $250,000 or more for 90 days. On December 26, 2023, the Florida Lottery confirmed that Saltines Holdings LLC had taken the prize as a one-time lump sum of $794,248,882.

That claiming structure — an LLC or a trust rather than a person’s name — shows up repeatedly among recent big winners. What’s allowed varies by state; some states publish names, others permit anonymity or entity claims.

The 2016 jackpot that three families split

Before the current records, the January 13, 2016, Powerball drawing produced a $1.586 billion jackpot — the first US lottery prize to cross $1 billion. Three tickets shared it, each worth about $528.8 million as an annuity.

John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tennessee, claimed within days and appeared on NBC’s TODAY, taking a lump sum of just over $327 million before taxes. Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt of Melbourne Beach, Florida, claimed through the Nickel 95 Trust for about $327.8 million. Marvin and Mae Acosta of California claimed months later and said through representatives that most of the money would go to a trust and to charities.

What happened after: two very different outcomes

Mavis Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts, won $758.7 million in August 2017 — at the time, the largest jackpot ever won on a single ticket. She took a lump sum of $480,500,936 and, as CNBC reported, quit her job of 32 years in patient care at Mercy Medical Center. Police added patrols near her home as media and onlookers arrived.

Wanczyk has stayed out of public view since. AARP and the Boston Globe have both reported on scammers impersonating her online, contacting people with promises of giveaway money. The real Wanczyk is not sending anyone cash; those accounts are imposters trading on her name.

Jack Whittaker’s story went the other direction. He won a $314.9 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas Day 2002, then the largest single-ticket win ever. As the Washington Post documented, he gave away more than $50 million, funded church construction, and started the Jack Whittaker Foundation. He was also robbed twice — $545,000 in one incident, $200,000 in another — faced numerous lawsuits, and lost his granddaughter, Brandi Bragg, in December 2004; the coroner ruled her cause of death undetermined.

Whittaker later told ABC he wished he had torn the ticket up. He died in 2020.

What the biggest lottery winners’ records actually show

Read across all these cases and a few factual patterns stand out. Almost every winner took the lump sum, which is substantially less than the advertised jackpot. The IRS requires 24% withholding on lottery prizes over $5,000, and that withholding is a prepayment, not a final tax bill — the amount actually owed depends on the winner’s full return.

Publicity varies entirely by state law. California named Castro; Florida delayed disclosure for 90 days; Missouri released no name at all. Several recent claims came through trusts or LLCs.

And the odds don’t move. Powerball puts the jackpot odds at 1 in 292,201,338; Mega Millions puts its own at 1 in 290,472,336. Every person on the list of biggest lottery winners cleared those odds exactly once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the single biggest lottery winner in US history?

Edwin Castro, who won the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot from the November 7, 2022, drawing on a ticket sold in Altadena, California. He took the cash option of $997.6 million before taxes.

Do the biggest lottery winners get the full advertised jackpot?

Only if they choose the annuity, which pays out over roughly three decades. Nearly all of the biggest lottery winners took the lump sum instead, which is a much smaller figure, and federal tax applies either way.

Can lottery winners stay anonymous?

It depends on the state. California released Castro’s name under its disclosure law, while Missouri did not name its 2025 winner. Some winners claim through a trust or LLC where state rules allow it. Check your own state lottery’s published rules.

How much tax is withheld from a big lottery prize?

The IRS requires 24% federal withholding on gambling and lottery winnings above $5,000, reported on Form W-2G. That is withholding, not the final amount owed — actual liability is determined when the winner files, and state tax rules vary.

Know the Rules Where You Live

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Sources & How to Verify

The facts on this page are drawn from official government and primary sources. Rules and figures change, so always confirm the current details with the official agency or the promotion’s own published rules.

• FTC Consumer Advice: consumer.ftc.gov — prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scam guidance
• IRS: irs.gov — how prizes and winnings are treated as income
• Social Security Administration: ssa.gov — what SSI recipients must report
• The promotion’s official rules: every legitimate sweepstakes publishes them — the rules page is always the final word

Content last reviewed August 2026. If you notice outdated information, please contact us.

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