Powerball and Mega Millions have reached or surpassed $1 billion jackpots 14 times since 2016, with the bulk of these occurring between 2022 and 2025. The largest lottery winner in U.S. history was Edwin Castro, who won a $2 billion Powerball jackpot in November 2022.
For the third year in a row Powerball and Mega Millions helped make the holiday season a memorable one. In fact the two biggest lottery games in the nation have (coincidental) ties to Christmas when it comes to a few of their billion-dollar lottery jackpots. As of Dec. 31 2025 Powerball and Mega Millions have reached or surpassed 1 billion a whopping 14 times since 2016. Players have seen the bulk of those billion-dollar prizes rise between 2022 and 2025 (see below). While 1 billion is a lot of money Powerball once hit 2 billion. So far it happened one time in November 2022 with Edwin Castro of Altadena California who is the largest lottery winner in U.S. history with his epic Powerball win. His particular lottery story has ties to another holiday Valentine's Day but that's another story. Here's a recap of how a few Powerball and Mega Millions billion-dollar lottery jackpots have ties to Christmas. As of Dec. 31 2025 there have been 14 lottery jackpots that have reached or surpassed 1 billion. Only once has a jackpot surpassed 2 billion. These are the biggest lottery jackpots in U.S. history. Sangalang is a lead digital producer for the USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper