| # | Jackpot | Drawing | Ticket sold in | Cash value | Est. take-home* | Winner chose | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2.04 BillionPowerball | Nov 7, 2022 | California | $997.6 Million | $628,538,000 | Not stated | Official |
| 2 | $1.817 BillionPowerball | Dec 24, 2025 | Arkansas | $834.9 Million | $493,475,987 | Not stated | Official |
| 3 | $1.787 BillionPowerball | Sep 6, 2025 | Missouri Texas |
2 × $410.3 Million | $239,255,080 $258,539,000 |
Not stated Not stated |
Official |
| 4 | $1.765 BillionPowerball | Oct 11, 2023 | California | $774.1 Million | $487,733,000 | Not stated | Official |
| 5 | $1.602 BillionMega Millions | Aug 8, 2023 | Florida | $794.2 Million | $500,396,000 | Not stated | Official |
| 6 | $1.586 BillionPowerball | Jan 13, 2016 | California Florida Tennessee |
3 × $327.8 Million | $206,586,050 $206,586,050 $206,586,050 |
Not stated Not stated Cash option |
Official |
| 7 | $1.537 BillionMega Millions | Oct 23, 2018 | South Carolina | $877.8 Million | $500,387,607 | Cash option | Official |
| 8 | $1.348 BillionMega Millions | Jan 13, 2023 | Maine | $723.6 Million | $404,161,094 | Cash option | Official |
| 9 | $1.337 BillionMega Millions | Jul 29, 2022 | Illinois | $780.5 Million | $453,130,250 | Not stated | Official |
| 10 | $1.326 BillionPowerball | Apr 6, 2024 | Oregon | $621 Million | $329,802,756 | Not stated | Official |
| 11 | $1.269 BillionMega Millions | Dec 27, 2024 | California | $571.9 Million | $360,347,000 | Not stated | Official |
| 12 | $1.128 BillionMega Millions | Mar 26, 2024 | New Jersey | $536.6 Million | $280,456,424 | Not stated | Official |
| 13 | $1.08 BillionPowerball | Jul 19, 2023 | California | $558.1 Million | $351,653,000 | Not stated | Official |
| 14 | $1.05 BillionMega Millions | Jan 22, 2021 | Michigan | $776.6 Million | $456,302,500 | Not stated | Official |
| 15 | $1.04 BillionPowerball | Aug 12, 2026 | Illinois | $450.5 Million | $261,565,250 | Not stated | Official |
* Estimated take-home if the prize were claimed today as a lump sum by a single filer living in the state where the ticket was sold, using 2026 federal and state tax rates. Select an amount to open it in the calculator and change the state or filing status. “Not stated” means the official claim announcement does not say which option the winner chose.
Largest Powerball jackpots
The largest Powerball jackpot — and the largest lottery jackpot ever won — is $2.04 Billion, won with a single ticket sold in California for the drawing of Nov 7, 2022. Its cash value was $997.6 Million. California does not tax California Lottery winnings, so a winner taking the cash today would owe federal income tax only, about $369,062,000, and keep about $628,538,000.
8 of the 15 jackpots here are Powerball jackpots. Two were shared: the $1.586 Billion jackpot of Jan 13, 2016 was split by tickets sold in California, Florida and Tennessee, and the $1.787 Billion jackpot of Sep 6, 2025 by tickets sold in Missouri and Texas. Work out any Powerball prize with the Powerball calculator.
Largest Mega Millions jackpots
The largest Mega Millions jackpot is $1.602 Billion, won in Florida on Aug 8, 2023, with a cash value of $794.2 Million. The $1.537 Billion jackpot of Oct 23, 2018 was won in South Carolina: the winner took the cash option of $877,784,124, and the South Carolina Education Lottery said the state would collect about $61 million in income tax on the prize. Try your own numbers in the Mega Millions calculator.
How we estimate the take-home
Each estimate runs the official cash value for that ticket through the same engine as our lottery tax calculator: 2026 federal brackets and the standard deduction, plus the income tax of the state where the ticket was sold. Real winners' tax bills differ. They paid the rates of the year they claimed, some lived in another state, and some prizes were shared among family members, trusts or office pools. The methodology lists every rate and source, and lottery tax by state compares all 50 states.
Where billion-dollar tickets were sold
California sold 5 of the 18 winning tickets on this list, more than any other state. The tickets came from 12 states in all.
Common questions
What is the largest lottery jackpot ever won?
The largest is the $2.04 Billion Powerball jackpot from the drawing of Nov 7, 2022, won with one ticket sold in California. Its cash value was $997.6 Million before taxes. No larger lottery jackpot has been won in the United States.
How much would the $2.04 Billion Powerball winner keep after taxes?
The official announcements do not say what the winner paid. Taking the $997.6 Million cash value today, a single filer would owe about $369,062,000 in federal income tax and nothing to California, which does not tax California Lottery prizes, keeping about $628,538,000.
Do jackpot winners usually take the lump sum?
In every case on this list where the official claim announcement states the choice — Tennessee (2016), South Carolina (2018), Maine (2023) — the winner took the cash option. The announcements for the other jackpots do not say. Compare both options for any jackpot with the lottery annuity calculator.
How many lottery jackpots have reached $1 billion?
15 Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots of $1 billion or more have been won: 8 Powerball and 7 Mega Millions. The first was the $1.586 Billion Powerball jackpot of January 2016, shared by three tickets.