The Biggest Jackpots in History (and How They Were Paid)

The biggest jackpots in history all now start with a “b,” and the record still belongs to a single Powerball ticket sold in Altadena, California, on November 7, 2022, worth an advertised $2.04 billion. California Lottery officials later identified the winner as Edwin Castro, who took the cash option instead: $997.6 million before taxes. That gap between the headline number and the check is the part most people never see explained.

Here is the short version. The advertised prize is an annuity — 30 payments spread over 29 years, with each payment 5% larger than the one before it, per Powerball’s official prize rules. The cash option is what the lottery actually has in the prize pool right now, typically somewhere near half the headline figure. Federal withholding comes off the top before anything lands in an account.

Below is the current ranking of the biggest jackpots in history for US games, how each one was paid, and the surprising mechanics that made billion-dollar prizes routine in a way they simply weren’t fifteen years ago.

The biggest jackpots in history, ranked

Two games account for every US prize above $1.5 billion: Powerball and Mega Millions. The list has shifted recently — 2025 was an unusually heavy year, adding two Powerball jackpots that pushed older records down the chart.

The most recent entry to the top ten came on August 13, 2026, when a single Illinois ticket won $1.04 billion, as reported by CBS News and UPI. That’s the largest US win of 2026 so far, though it sits well below the biggest jackpots in history at the top of the table.

How the biggest jackpots in history actually get paid

Every US jackpot winner faces the same choice, and the two options are genuinely different products.

• Annuity: the full advertised amount, paid as one immediate payment plus 29 annual payments, each 5% larger than the last. That escalation is built in to offset inflation over the 29 years.
• Cash option: a single payment equal to the money currently sitting in the prize pool — the amount the lottery would otherwise use to buy the securities that fund the annuity.

You can see the spread clearly in the record itself. Powerball’s advertised $2.04 billion had a cash value of $997.6 million — about 49%. The Mega Millions record of $1.602 billion paid out at $794,248,882 in cash, roughly the same proportion, according to Florida Lottery’s announcement of the claim.

The ratio isn’t fixed. It moves with interest rates, because the annuity’s cost depends on what the prize pool can earn. Higher rates mean the same pile of cash buys a bigger advertised annuity, which is one quiet reason headline numbers climbed in the 2022–2025 stretch.

Why almost every winner takes the cash

In practice, the cash option wins overwhelmingly. Both winners of the $1.787 billion September 2025 Powerball — the Missouri ticket sold at a QuikTrip in north St. Louis County and the Texas ticket from Fredericksburg — took cash rather than the annuity, per Powerball’s own announcement and CNN’s reporting on the Missouri claim.

The reasoning people cite publicly tends to be control: cash now versus a payment stream tied to a state lottery for three decades. The annuity’s defenders point to the opposite virtue — it’s structurally hard to spend all at once. There’s no universally right answer, and the tradeoffs depend entirely on an individual’s circumstances, which is a conversation for a licensed professional, not an article.

What comes off the top before anyone gets paid

Federal withholding is automatic. The IRS requires payers to withhold 24% on gambling winnings over $5,000 and to report the prize on Form W-2G. That happens before the winner sees the money — it isn’t optional.

Important nuance: 24% is a prepayment, not the final bill. A nine-figure prize lands in the top federal bracket, so the eventual liability is generally higher than what was withheld, and the difference is settled at filing time. State treatment varies widely — some states tax lottery prizes, some don’t. The IRS and your state revenue agency are the authorities on any specific situation.

Why the biggest jackpots in history keep getting bigger

This is the part casual players find genuinely surprising: the enormous numbers are engineered, not accidental.

Powerball changed its matrix on October 7, 2015, expanding the white balls from 59 to 69 while shrinking the red Powerball pool. That made the jackpot harder to hit — current odds are 1 in 292,201,338 — which means more drawings roll over, which means the prize compounds higher before someone finally wins it. Three months after the change, in January 2016, three tickets split $1.586 billion, the first multi-jurisdictional jackpot ever to clear $1 billion.

Mega Millions ran the same play in 2017, moving jackpot odds from roughly 1 in 259 million to 1 in 302 million and doubling the ticket price to $2. Harder odds, bigger rollovers, more billion-dollar headlines. Nearly all of the biggest jackpots in history date from after these two redesigns.

Mega Millions then reversed course on the odds. In April 2025 the game relaunched at $5 per play, removed one gold Mega Ball, and improved jackpot odds to 1 in 290,472,336 — slightly better than Powerball’s. Every non-jackpot prize now carries an automatic 2X to 10X multiplier, and the jackpot resets to $50 million instead of $20 million after a win.

Surprising-but-true details behind the biggest jackpots in history

A few facts that hold up to checking:

• An LLC won the Mega Millions record. The $1.602 billion Florida prize was claimed by Saltines Holdings LLC, using a Florida provision that lets prizes of $250,000 and up be claimed through an entity. The ticket came from a Publix in Neptune Beach.
• Disclosure rules differ by state. California names its winners by law, which is how Edwin Castro’s identity became public. Florida gives large-prize claimants a 90-day exemption from disclosure.
• The world record isn’t the world’s biggest game. EuroMillions caps its jackpot at €250 million; once the cap is hit, further money rolls down to lower prize tiers instead of growing the top prize. US games have no such ceiling — which is exactly why the biggest jackpots in history are American.
• Splits are common. Two of the six biggest jackpots in history were shared. When a prize gets large enough to draw casual players, duplicate number combinations become far more likely.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lottery jackpot ever won?

$2.04 billion, on a single Powerball ticket sold in Altadena, California, on November 7, 2022. The winner, Edwin Castro, took the cash option of $997.6 million before taxes.

Why is the cash option so much smaller than the advertised jackpot?

The advertised figure is the total of 30 annuity payments over 29 years, each 5% larger than the last. The cash option is the money actually in the prize pool today — historically close to half the headline number.

What are the current odds of winning?

Powerball’s jackpot odds are 1 in 292,201,338. Mega Millions improved to 1 in 290,472,336 with its April 2025 relaunch, when the ticket price rose to $5 and one Mega Ball was removed.

How much is withheld for taxes?

The IRS requires 24% federal withholding on gambling winnings over $5,000, reported on Form W-2G. That’s a prepayment, not the final amount owed, and state rules vary. Check with the IRS and your state agency for your own situation.

Know the Rules Where You Live

Sweepstakes and prize rules change from state to state — what a sponsor can offer, how prizes are handled, and what protections you have. Pick your state to see the exact rules that apply where you live.

See Sweepstakes Laws in All 50 States →

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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