The Mega Millions lottery often displays mouth-watering jackpots of several hundred million US dollars! When you play Mega Millions, it is, afterall, with the hope of winning one of those extraordinary prizes that you hear about on television or in the newspapers.
Here are the top Mega Millions winners:
1. USD 1.602 Billion – August 8, 2023
The Mega Millions jackpot reached a new record level on August 8, 2023, when a single player from Florida won the biggest prize ever in the game: USD 1.602 BILLION!
The jackpot had been rolling over for 31 draws without a winner until the lucky ticket matched all the winning numbers: 13, 19, 20, 32, 33, and the Mega Ball 14. This was the 4th time ever that a Florida ticket won the Mega Millions top prize; however, two of the previous wins were shared with other states. The most recent one was a $502 million prize split with California on October 14, 2022.
There were also many other prizes won on August 8, totalling 7,056,452 winning tickets across all prize tiers. Among them, 7 tickets matched all the main numbers except the Mega Ball number. Two of these tickets, bought in Florida and North Carolina, had the Megaplier option and doubled their prize to USD 2 Million each. The other five tickets won the regular second-tier prize of USD 1 Million; they were purchased in California, Pennsylvania, Texas (2) and West Virginia.
2. USD 1.537 Billion – October 23, 2018
This amazing jackpot stirred up crowds, and it’s easy to see why. It is not often that a lottery prize reaches such a level. This was, at the time, the second biggest lottery jackpot ever scooped, in the world! It was also the largest lottery prize ever scooped by a single ticket at that point.
This extremely lucky player from South Carolina chose to remain anonymous. He came to collect his winnings on March 4, 2019. By then, everyone was wondering why the new Mega Millions winner hadn’t come forward yet.
The American Mega Millions confirms its place as one of the biggest American lotteries.
While the Mega Millions record wasn’t enough to take Powerball’s place with its January 2016 jackpot of USD 1.58 Billion, it came dangerously close.
3. USD 1.348 Billion – January 13, 2022
The US Mega Millions jackpot reached a new record level on January 13, 2023, after 25 draws with no winner.
The lucky draw, which coincided with a Friday the 13th, awarded a USD 1.348 Billion prize to a single ticket from Maine.
The ticket was bought at a Hometown Gas & Grill in Lebanon (Maine) and matched all the numbers drawn: 30-43-45-46-61/14.
This was also the 1st time a Mega Millions jackpot was won in Maine.
The Mega Millions winner claimed the USD 1.35 Billion prize on February 22, 2023, but chose to remain anonymous. He opted for the cash option of USD 723,564,144 (before taxes) and received it through a limited liability company called LaKoma Island Investments LLC.
A spokesperson declared: “The winner is carefully planning how to use this life-changing amount of money,”
4. USD 1.337 Billion – July 29, 2022
2022 saw a couple of fantastic jackpots including this one that exceeded the 1 billion dollar mark in July. The 2 owners of the winning ticket became the second biggest Mega Millions winners, the third largest lottery winners in US and the biggest lottery winners in Illinois when they scooped this jackpot of USD 1.337 Billion!
Indeed, the single winning ticket was bought at a Speedway Gas Station in Des Plaines, Illinois. It had the winning numbers: 13-36-45-57-67/ 14 for the draw on July 29, 2022.
The jackpot was first estimated at USD 1.28 Billion but it was revised up after the draw took place as sales were even better than anticipated. Everyone wanted to try their luck with this fascinating jackpot!
The winners came forward after almost 8 weeks in which they took advice from professional legal and financial advisors. They had the option to remain anonymous and they did. All we know is that they were “over the moon”!
These 2 players purchased their ticket together, this means they will split it. They chose the Cash option, so they went home with half of $780.5 Million each! Not a bad day!
5. USD 1.128 Billion – March 26, 2024
Anticipation is high to discover the identity of the fortunate ticket holder which will have to choose between annual payments and a lump sum payment (estimated at USD536.6 Million)
6. USD 1.05 Billion – January 22, 2021
In 2021, the Mega Millions once again reached the billion dollar mark! A winning ticket from Michigan won USD 1.05 Billion.
To win this superb pot, you had to guess the right numbers: 4, 26, 42, 50, 60/24.
4 players that played as a Mega Millions syndicate are sharing this amazing jackpot. They did well, as they shared one of the biggest lottery jackpots ever.
It was after 2 months that their lawyer came to collect the winnings on behalf of the “Wolverine FLL Club“. He said these lucky players want to share part of their winnings with various charities.
7. USD 656 USD Million – March 30, 2012
What happened to this wonderful prize? It was scooped by three winning tickets. One of these tickets, sold in Maryland, belonged to a syndicate of three players who chose to be known under the name “The Three Amigos”.
They are, in fact, 3 co-workers who agreed that they had to participate in this draw that was offering an extraordinary large jackpot. They decided to increase their chances, and thus bought 60 Mega Millions tickets together!
They did great, because by guessing the 5 correct main numbers as well as the Mega Ball, they won USD 656 Million, and thus entered the pantheon of the biggest Mega Millions winners.
They wanted to remain as anonymous as possible and came to collect their prize in costumes.
One of the winning Mega Millions tickets was claimed in Kansas by an anonymous player while the last ticket was purchased in Illinois by Merle and Patricia Butler, a retired couple.
Patricia and Merle Butler were retired when they hit the Mega Millions jackpot. People who worked hard all their lives, but didn’t complain. People who took care of their families and asked for nothing more.
Apparently when Patricia found out their numbers matched she couldn’t stop laughing. Merle, meanwhile, began by calling a financial expert to find out what steps to take with their new fortune.
They chose the lump sum payment and thus recovered $ 111 Million after tax deduction. Enough to afford a nice retirement!
8. USD 648 Million – December 17, 2013
One year after having recorded the world record for the biggest jackpot, the Mega Millions lottery made the buzz again. As the Christmas holiday season approached, the prize pool kept growing. Everyone expected the US lottery to break its own record, but two people stopped the jackpot from rising by guessing all the right numbers: 8-14-17-20-39 and the Mega Ball 7.
Ira Curry, 56, from Stone Mountain, Georgia scooped half of the USD 648 Million jackpot.
It was her daughter who realized she had the winning Mega Millions numbers while watching the draw live on tv. She was the one who broke the good news to her mom, and what news!
Ira Curry came to claim her prize with all of her family and opted for the lump sum payment, which resulted in her getting USD 173.8 Million. Congratulations !
Steve Tran, from California, is the second Mega Millions winner of the USD 648 Million jackpot.
He bought his Mega Millions ticket on a family trip to San José, and he totally forgot about the purchase until he saw the news on TV. Can you imagine winning the lottery, and even forgetting that you bought a ticket? Lucky for him, Steve Tran quickly remembered that he played Mega Millions and checked his numbers.
After checking his numbers, he smiled, hugged his wife and then texted his Boss: “I’m so sorry. I hit the jackpot. I don’t think I can come today, tomorrow, ever.”
That must be what goes through the minds of a lot of players when they become one of Mega Millions biggest winners.
9. USD 543 Million – January 14, 2018
That’s what they did, and they became one of the largest Mega Millions syndicate winners!
The atmosphere at work is so good that they have all decided to continue working together, even though they became very wealthy. We would love to read stories like this more often…
10. USD 536 Million – July 8, 2016
The July8, 2016 draw brought in another fantastic prize: USD 536 Million were scooped by the Waters family, from Indiana.
They had bought 5 Mega Millions tickets on their way to a sports camp with their children.
They too had forgotten they had bought Mega Millions tickets. They stumbled upon them by chance, and decided to check the winning numbers of the draw. To their surprise, they found out they won ! They chose the lump sum option and thus earned USD 271 Million, after tax.
The Waters family wanted to keep their lives as normal as possible, which is why they chose to remain as anonymous as possible, and created a trust called Warren D, LLC.
11. USD 533 Million – March 30, 2018
We must admit that Mega Millions offers extraordinary jackpots. Here is a jackpot of USD 533 Million – over half a billion dollars!!!
Richard Wahl scooped this great jackpot. He found it hard to believe when he saw he won as it was only the second time in his life that he played lotto.
He got his ticket at a small gas station. When he checked Mega Millions resuts, he didn’t quite realized how much he won, he thought he had won USD 1 Million…
Richard opted for the lump sum payment to collect his winnings and thus pocketed USD 324.6 Million. In order to do what’s best for himself and his family, he decided to follow the advice of financial experts.
12. USD 522 Million – June 7, 2019
A player by the name of Laarni Bibal scooped this jackpot, from California. She bought her ticket at the Sorrento Deli Mart and opted for the Flash option on her ticket to get a random selection of her numbers.
She then forgot all about it until the day after the draw when she learned the jackpot had been won, not only in California, but in her favorite store. “My heart started to pound!“
She wanted to get prepared before coming in to claim her prize so she waited a few months before showing up, and finally opted for the lump sum payment, which left her with USD 340 Million (before taxes). Ms. Bibal plans to use her fortune to pay off her loan and start a new life. We wish her good luck !
To become the Mega Millions winner of this great jackpot, you had to guess the 5 main numbers: 17-19-27-40-68 as well as the additional number Mega Ball 2.
Mega Millions Winners FAQ
The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever scooped is worth USD 1.602 Billion and was scooped on August 8, 2023. The lucky winner has not come forward yet.
A single winning ticket from New Jersey took home the last jackpot to enter the top 10 winners of the Mega Millions lottery. The lucky winner(s) scooped no less than USD 1.13 Billion on March 25, 2024.
Become the next Mega Millions winner!
Try your luck at the amazing Mega Millions lottery.
You don’t live in the States and/or are not American… No problem, try your luck online. Mega Millions rules allow foreigners to participate as long as the Mega Millions tickets are purchased on American soil, at official retailers, and remain in the States. This means you can play online as long as you choose a reliable and safe platform of online lottery courriers such as theLotter.