We all dream of winning the lottery someday and changing our life around. It is no surprise that people from all over the world regularly play US Powerball with the hope of matching all those lucky numbers. Winning the huge jackpot would mean a carefree life, as Powerball offers the biggest prizes in the lottery industry!
You will be happy to read all the Powerball lottery winner success stories, as there is no reason for you not to become the next lucky ticket holder. Here is our top 10 of Powerball jackpot winners. It will show you that playing is the only way to turn your dreams into reality.
1. $2.04 Billion – November 7, 2022
California can boast having the luckiest Powerball winner! A single ticket purchased in the Golden State scooped the record jackpot of $2.04 Billion! This is a record in many ways as it is Powerball’s biggest jackpot, it turned Edwin Castro, a Californian player, into the biggest Powerball winner solo & it is the biggest lottery win in the world as well!
The single winning ticket which was purchased in Altadena, California featured the numbers: 10-33-41-47-56/10.
California is one of the 9 states that don’t have state taxes on lottery winnings, which means that it relies on lottery tickets sales.
Edwin Castro opted for the lump sum payment of $997.6 million. That is before taxes get applied.
2. $1.765 billion – October 11, 2023
On October 11, 2023, Powerball’s first prize reached over the billion-dollar for the fourth time ever. A single ticket from California matched all the numbers drawn and won $1.765 billion!
However, that ticket was apparently owned by a syndicate. California does not allow prizes to be claimed anonymously so Theodorus Struyck, one of the members of the group, claimed the jackpot.
Theodorus is a 65 year old retiree that has been living in Frazier Park (where the winning ticket was purchased) for 14 years. He has become a pillar of the community over the years and his neighbors were thrilled that he became one of the biggest Powerball winners of all time.
The jackpot was originally estimated at $1.73 billion, but due to some amazing last minute sales, the jackpot increased to $1.765 billion. The winning ticket featured all winning numbers: 22-24-40-52-64 and the Powerball 10.
The new Powerball winner now has to decide between getting the $1.765 Billion jackpot in 30 annual payments or taking a one-time cash payment of $774.1 million.
3. $1.586 billion – January 13, 2016
Back in 2016, the Powerball jackpot climbed higher and higher, getting the whole world excited. This historical event set a sky-high new record of almost $1.6 billion! Three tickets eventually matched all the lucky numbers, and the ticket holders came forward to claim their share of the jackpot.
Mae and Marvin Acosta from California; John and Lisa Robinson from Tennessee; and Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt, became the luckiest people on Earth.
The Robinsons chose to take their $528.8 million in one lump-sum payment, which meant they got $327.8 million after taxes. They went on live television to share their amazing story right before beginning the collection process. It turns out that John bought the Quick Pick ticket from a local store before heading home.
The Acostas waited 6 months before collecting their prize and took the time to seek financial advice before coming forward. They declined media appearances and chose to remain under the radar. Their names were made public as required by the lottery’s anonymity rules for Powerball winners, but the couple insisted on keeping any other information about them private. They said they were going to use a lot of their new-found money on charities!
David Kaltschmidt and Maureen Smith collected their prize as the Nickel 95 Trust and opted for the lump sum cash payment. Maureen declared that she has been playing the lottery with the same numbers for years and their Powerball ticket was also bought from a local supermarket. Apparently, the lucky numbers strategy can pay off eventually!
4. $1.326 billion – April 6, 2024
Another great prize that exceeded the billion dollar mark in 2024.
This time there was a single winning ticket sold in the state of Oregon, whose owner still has several months to claim his or her prize.
The draw took place on Saturday, April 6. The winning numbers were 22, 27, 44, 52, 69 and 9 for the Powerball number.
4. $1.08 billion – July 19, 2023
On July 19, 2023, a single player from California won $1.08 billion, slightly more than what was initially advertised due to last minute sales.
The Powerball jackpot had been rolling over since April 19, and it was finally won after 38 consecutive rollovers.
The winner claimed her prize after 8 months. She had a tough decision to make between cashing her prize as a lump-sum payment or an annuity over 30 years. Yanira Alvarez chose the lump sum of $558.1 million.
5. $842.4 million – January 1, 2024
Powerball achieved a new record in 2024! A lucky person won the Powerball jackpot on New Year’s Day! This was the first time this occurred since the game started in 1992! No Powerball winner had ever been made on the first day of a new year till then.
The fortunate winner from Michigan claimed $842 million. His ticket was the only one with all the winning numbers: 12-21-42-44-49/ 01. In Michigan, a lottery winner can collect the prize up to 1 year after the draw.
6. $768.4 million – March 27, 2019
After a long series of rollovers, the US Powerball jackpot reached a whopping $768.4 million on March 27, 2019. The jackpot was estimated at $750 million initially, but the total amount was increased due to unexpectedly high ticket sales. There was only one winning ticket, sold in Wisconsin. The lucky winner came forward on April 23. His name is Manuel Franco and he was only 24 years old.
But even at his young age, he had been playing Powerball for many years now. Manuel Franco told the press that he was 18 when he bought his very first Powerball ticket. Perseverance is the key to winning the lottery, as his story attests.
But Manuel knew that something big was coming his way. On March 27th, when he bought his tickets, he felt extremely lucky. And he was so right about it. That day, he won $768 million and he became Powerball’s biggest winner (at the time).
So, what’s next for Manuel? One thing he was sure about is that he was not going back to his old job. He went to work the day after he found out about the jackpot, but soon realized that he didn’t have to do that anymore. He took the time to prepare for claiming his jackpot and chose the lump sum payout, worth $477 million.
After paying the taxes on that, he was left with $326 million. He had big plans for his Powerball fortune, but he didn’t want to rush into things. He wanted to find a long-term plan instead of squandering it all off on expensive cars and parties. “I do want to help out the world but I want to make sure my future is secure.”
7. $758.7 million – August 23, 2017
Mavis Wanczyk became the largest single jackpot winner in history at the time. The 53-year-old mother of two from Massachusetts took home a cash lump sum of $480.5 million. She decided to retire from her job as a healthcare worker in a local hospital.
I just want to sit back and relax. I had a pipe dream, and my pipe dream has finally come true. I wanted to retire, and it came early.”
After quitting her job at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Mavis decided to take a step back from the public eye and enjoy her luck on her own. She was planing to relax, hide in her bed, and think about what she wants to do next. She also mentioned giving back to her community in order to pay it forward!
8. $754.6 million – February 6, 2023
One single winning ticket was sold in Washington state for the draw on February 6, 2023.
The Powerball winner, Becky Bell, purchased her lucky ticket in a Fred Meyer Supermarket in Auburn. It featured the winning numbers: 05-11-22-23-69 & Powerball 07.
Becky declared:
I’ve never won more than $20 in my life, so you can imagine my shock when I realized what had just happened. I just broke down and cried.”
She came early to the appointment to claim her prize as she had a doctor appointment with her mother later in the day. She came to claim her prize alongside her daughter and chose the cash option.
9. $731.1 million – January 20, 2021
The year 2021 started with a band for a a group of Powerball fans from the struggling coal mining town of Lonaconing in West Maryland. “The Power Pack”, as they called themselves, took their time until cashing the mouth-watering jackpot of $731.1 million.
Only in May did these amazing Powerball syndicate winners go to the Maryland Lottery to start the prize claiming process. They decided not to reveal their identity as Maryland is one of the states that allow winners to remain anonymous. However, keeping quiet about such a huge windfall could prove difficult if the ticket was bought by a local as Lonaconing is a town of about 300 families that’s well off the beaten track.
10. $699.8 million – October 4, 2021
This is what the California Lottery tweeted after the draw of October 4, 2021 when a lucky ticket holder from the Golden State stopped Powerball’s rollover streak. No one had won the game’s grand prize since June 5. This means the Powerball jackpot had gone for three months and 40 draws without a top-prize winner.
The massive jackpot worth $699.8 million grew ahead of the drawing from the advertised amount of $685 million due to brisk ticket sales. This made the prize jump to fifth position in the top of largest jackpots.
The winner came forward two months later. After long consideration, Scott Godfrey from Sacramento, California cashed in his newfound wealth as a lump sum. This will bring him a cash influx of $496 million. The amount is, however, subject to taxes. A federal tax of 24% is taking off about $119 million. This leaves Scott Godfrey with a hefty $377 million.
When claiming the prize, the lucky Powerball winner talked a bit about his plans with the money. He was planning to get involved into charity work, but this is probably all that we will hear of him as he has decided to keep his private life away from the public eye.
11. $687.8 million – October 27, 2018
Back in October 2018, the US Powerball jackpot rolled over again and again. Excitement built up until the prize has reached $687.8 million, and everyone wanted to get in the game for the enormous pot. Two lottery players, one from New York, and one from Iowa, eventually matched the five main numbers and the Powerball and shared the jackpot.
Lerynne West from Redfield, Iowa, came forward to claim her share of the prize and opted for the lump sum payout, amounting to $198.1 million. She plans to help support her family and friend, as well as those in need through the Callum Foundation she established to honor her grandson who died soon after being born.
Robert Bailey, 67, from Manhattan, is the other winning ticket holder. He is a retired federal employee who has been playing the lottery regularly using the same numbers for the last 25 years. Eventually, he had a stroke of luck when deciding to take cover from the rain in a Harlem Deli. There, he purchased his Powerball entry and the rest is history!
Bailey plans to buy a new house for his mother and make smart investments for himself and his family. He also said that he would keep playing the lottery with the same numbers that brought him so much luck.
12. $632.6 million – January 5, 2022
After 40 successive draws, all six Powerball winning numbers for the draw of January 5, 2022 were matched by two ticket holders, one from Wisconsin and one from California. As a result, a mouth-watering jackpot worth $632.6 million was split between the two.
The final amount each Powerball winner got was significantly different eventhough they both chose the lump sum cash option due to different state taxes.
Orlando Zavala Lozano waited a little over 4 months before coming forward to claim his half of the prize. This Powerball winner from California purchased only one ticket. That was enough to bring him a fortune!
A little later, Tammy & Cliff Webster came forward. This lovely couple from Oneida seemed very well grounded and ecstatic about their win. Moreover, the whole Oneida Nation and community was thrilled and optimistic about this lucky win!
13. $590.5 million – May 18, 2013
Gloria MacKenzie won the Powerball jackpot when she was 84, becoming the oldest Powerball winner. She was the sole Powerball winner in that draw, cashing in $590.5 million with a Quick Pick ticket.
Her success story is inspiring, as it comes from the kindness of strangers. MacKenzie was waiting in line at her local grocery store when a woman was kind enough to let her cut in line. The winning Quick Pick ticket would have gone to the polite stranger, as she also chose this method when purchasing her Powerball entry.
Gloria MacKenzie shared her fortune with her son and set up a foundation to support education. She also donated a large sum to her local school where she used to work as a teacher.
Where Are Some Of the Biggest Powerball Winners Now?
The Robinsons, who held one of the three winning tickets for the biggest jackpot until Nov. 2022 ($1.586 billion), have invested in a multi-million dollar home after their win. They now live in a luxury home that comes with a private lake and well-equipped theater. Other than that, they stayed away from the public eye, enjoying their fortune in private.
Unlike them, Maureen Smith and Kevin Kaltschmidt who won the same legendary draw, have maintained a modest lifestyle. They still live in the same house in Florida, and their only major investments were a Tesla and a brand-new SUV.
Marvin and Mae Acosta, the final third of the $1.586 billion jackpot winners of 2016 have maintained a low profile. They stayed quiet and chose to not appear in the press or anywhere else. Moreover, when they tried to set up a charity, scammers tried to take advantage of their plans to give back! The same thing happened to Mavis Wanczyk whose name was used by scammers, but luckily the authorities caught on.
How about the oldest Powerball winner, Gloria MacKenzie? Although her family asked for privacy, we know that MacKenzie changed her rental apartment and bought a $1.2 million seaside mansion in Jacksonville, Florida. She also donated $2 million to a high school in Maine to pay it forward.
Generally, major lottery winners who beat the lottery odds choose to share their luck with the world, through donations and charity work. Some of them also try to fulfill their life-long dream of traveling and supporting their family, especially through hard times.
Biggest Powerball Winners FAQ
Edwin Castro, a player from California became the biggest Powerball winner on November 7, 2022 when he scooped $2.04 billion. He is not only the biggest Powerball winner there ever was, but he is also the biggest solo lottery winner in the world at the moment.
What would you do if you played Powerball and won a huge jackpot? Take these inspiring success stories as a starting point and start playing because that’s the only way you stand a chance of joining the Powerball Hall of Fame. The biggest Powerball winners were also just dreamers before becoming multi-millionaires. Good luck in the next Powerball draw!