Mega Millions and Powerball have reached 1 billion 14 times in history Who won the big jackpots and where did the tickets come from. In 2025 Powerball and Mega Millions crossed the billion-dollar mark three times with one jackpot as high as 983 million. This year continued a recent surge in massive jackpots 2023 saw four billion-dollar lottery jackpots and there were three billion-dollar totals in 2024.
Mega Millions and Powerball have reached 1 billion 14 times in history Who won the big jackpots and where did the tickets come from? In 2025 Powerball and Mega Millions crossed the billion-dollar mark three times with one jackpot as high as 983 million. This year continued a recent surge in massive jackpots 2023 saw four billion-dollar lottery jackpots and there were three billion-dollar totals in 2024. The last billion-dollar lottery jackpot occurred during the 2025 holiday season similar to what happened during the 2024 holiday season Who won the largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history? Below is a compilation of all 14 billion-dollar Powerball and Mega Millions lottery jackpots who won who sold the tickets and their one-time lump-sum prizes. The list is organized from lowest total to highest. Powerball made history Jan. 11 2016 the first time a lottery jackpot hit 1 billion. After no one matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the (Saturday) Jan. 9 2016 drawing for 949 million the Monday jackpot soared to 1.4 billion. (No one won that drawing either.) Powerball made history again when three tickets matched all six numbers to win 1.586 billion in the (Wednesday) Jan. 13 2016 drawing. The jackpot started Nov. 4 2015 at 40 million. It had rolled over almost 30 times from Nov. 4 2015 to Jan. 13 2016 before three tickets from California Tennessee and Florida claimed the grand prize. The winning Florida ticket was purchased from a Publix store in Melbourne Beach. A single ticket won a 1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot on Jan. 22 2021 in Michigan. An Oakland County lottery club the Wolverine FLL Club made up of four members came forward to claim the prize. The winning ticket was purchased from a Kroger grocery store in Novi Michigan. Fun fact Jan. 22 2021 is a palindromic number when written in this style 12221 meaning the number is the same when the digits are reversed. A single ticket was purchased in California for the July 19 2023 Powerball drawing for 1.08 billion. The winning ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles which received a 1 million bonus commission according to California Lottery officials. Owner Nabor Herrera was not aware that he'd sold the winning ticket until he saw media gathered in front of his store the morning after the drawing. Yanira Alvarez of California claimed the prize. A single ticket from Neptune New Jersey claimed the grand prize in the March 26 2024 Mega Millions drawing for 1.128 billion. The winner who chose to remain anonymous finally came forward a day before the 2024 Christmas Eve holiday. The winning ticket was purchased at the Neptune Township ShopRite the New Jersey Lottery reported. According to a Dec. 23 2024 story in the Asbury Park Press a USA TODAY Network newspaper ShopRite in Neptune received a 30 000 lottery bonus commission. Richard Saker CEO and president of Saker ShopRites told the app.com in a prepared statement ShopRite congratulates the lucky 1.13 billion Mega Millions winner and wishes them all the best on this incredible life-changing event. To pay the good will forward Saker ShopRites and the ShopRite of Neptune donated the stores 30 000 lottery bonus commission to Fulfill Food Bank in Neptune. A single ticket in California purchased just after Christmas and Hanukkah and ahead of New Year's Eve correctly matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win the 1.22 billion Mega Millions drawing for Dec. 27 2024. Months later the winner was revealed on the luckiest holiday of all St. Patrick's Day 2025. Rosemary Casarotti of California officially collected her prize which had ballooned to 1.269 billion after final ticket sales. Casarotti opted for the lump sum valued at more than 571 million less federal taxes. The ticket was sold at a Circle K in Cottonwood California. The convenience store in Shasta County received a 1 000 000 bonus. One ticket three winners A single ticket was purchased in Oregon for 1.326 billion Powerball prize on April 6 2024. Cheng Charlie Saephan and his wife Duanpen Saephan of Portland Oregon and their friend Laiza Chao of Milwaukee Oregon claimed their winnings. Charlie Saephan bought the winning Powerball ticket from a Plaid Pantry in Portland Oregon. The couple split the over 422 million after-tax-withholdings lump sum with Chao evenly according to Oregon Lottery officials. Cheng Saephan an immigrant born in Laos who moved to the U.S. in 1994 said in a news conference that he had been battling cancer since 2016. Not long after the 1.326 billion Powerball drawing Cheng Saephan told reporters he underwent chemotherapy treatment. Saephan worked as a machinist in the aerospace industry before his cancer diagnosis. A single ticket was purchased in Des Plaines Illinois for the July 29 2022 Mega Millions drawing. Two people who wished to remain anonymous claimed the 1.337 billion jackpot. The winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at a Speedway in Des Plaines Illinois. A single ticket was purchased in Maine for the Jan. 13 2023 Mega Millions drawing. The winner remains anonymous through a trust and accepted their winnings of 1.35 billion through the limited liability company LaKoma Island Investments LLC according to a Feb. 22 2023 story in USA TODAY. Fun fact Jan. 13 2023 was Friday the 13th. The number 13 typically is referred to as an unlucky number and it's associated with horror films and Taylor Swift. A single ticket was purchased in South Carolina for the Oct. 23 2018 Mega Millions drawing. The 1.537 billion winner was never revealed since winners in South Carolina can remain anonymous. A KC Mart in Simpsonville South Carolina sold the winning ticket. A single ticket was purchased at a Publix in Neptune Beach Florida for the Aug. 8 2023 drawing. The 1.58 billion winner claimed the prize Sept. 25 2023 and the Florida Lottery announced the winner Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami on Dec. 27 2023. Fun fact Of the 11 times a Mega Millions or Powerball lottery jackpot reached 1 billion two of them came from a Florida beachside Publix store with the grand prize at 1.586 billion and 1.58 billion. Three tickets purchased in California Florida and Tennessee won the Jan. 13 2016 Powerball drawing splitting 1.586 billion. In 2016 FLORIDA TODAY reported Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt bought their winning Powerball ticket at a Publix in Melbourne Beach. The couple waited until February 2016 to claim their share of the grand prize. Six months after the drawing Marvin and Mae Acosta of California claimed their Powerball winnings of 528.8 million according to the California Lottery. The Tennessee Lottery announced a family from Munford Tennessee was the third winner in the 1.586 billion Powerball jackpot. John and Lisa Robinson claimed their share of the jackpot after making an appearance on NBCs Today show with Savannah Guthrie and Carson Daly to declare themselves the winner. For the 1.73 billion Powerball prize for Oct. 11 2023 Theodorus Struyck of California came forward to claim the ticket. The California Lottery said he represented a group of winners. In California big jackpot winners must claim the ticket in person at lottery headquarters but they have the option to issue prepared statements and decline to appear in photo and videos. Midway Market in California sold the winning billion-dollar Powerball ticket. Two winners in the Sept. 6 2025 Powerball drawing for 1.787 billion an anonymous player in St. Louis Missouri and Seven Bridges Revocable Trust in Fredericksburg Texas took the cash. A QuikTrip gas station and convenience store in St. Louis Missouri and a Bigs 103 gas station and convenience store in Fredericksburg Texas sold the winning Powerball tickets. Since there were two winners the 1.787 billion prize was split at 893.5 million or a one-time lump sum of 410.3 million both amounts before taxes. In the early hours of the 2025 Christmas holiday Powerball officials and the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery reported one ticket purchased in the Natural State was worth 1.817 billion. The Christmas Eve Powerball drawing originally for 1.7 billion ballooned by more than 100 million after final ticket sales. The winning ticket came from a Murphy USA gas station in a Walmart plaza in Cabot Arkansas. As of Monday Dec. 29 2025 days before New Year's Eve and New Year's Day it was not known who won the 1.817 billion Powerball grand prize. The largest lottery prize ever climbed to 2.04 billion in November 2022. The jackpot was an estimated 1.9 billion days before the drawing. A single ticket purchased in California won the grand prize and (fun fact) the winner was revealed on Valentine's Day Feb. 14 2023. Edwin Castro won the largest-ever lottery jackpot and he opted for a lump sum of 997.6 million just shy of 1 billion according to the California Lottery. The winning ticket was purchased at Joes Service Center nearby in Altadena California. Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper