Top 10 Biggest Mega Millions Jackpots Ever
With the words mega and millions in its name, it's no wonder that the blockbuster lottery Mega Millions is known for having mega jackpots. In fact, Mega Millions has come incredibly close to breaking the record for largest jackpot ever. If you're curious about exactly how big Mega Millions's jackpots have gotten, this is the perfect guide for you. Read on to find out what are top 10 biggest Mega Millions jackpots ever!
Our list of the top Mega Millions jackpots:
10. Anonymous - 4 June 2024 - $552 Million
The Mega Millions jackpot was won for the second time in 2024. After 20 drawings, a lucky Illinois winner brought home the jackpot, which stood at a whopping $552 million. They joined the happy New Jersey player who clinched the $1.13 billion jackpot earlier in March 2024.
9. Ira Curry and Steve Tran - December 17, 2013 - $648 Million
In October 2013, Mega Millions reached a new turning point in its history when the lottery implemented new rules designed to increase the size of its jackpots.
The rule changes worked so well that the lottery barely had to wait before getting a massive $648 million!
It took twenty-one rollovers until the Mega Millions jackpot was finally won on December 17, 2013. Surprisingly enough, even with astronomically low winning odds, the jackpot was split between two winners.
The first to come forward with a winning ticket was 56-year-old Ira Curry from Stone Mountain, Georgia. Ira had used family birthdays and his lucky number to pick his numbers.
The second winner was Steve Tran from San Jose, California. Tran almost ended up missing out on the momentous win, as his winning ticket had been sitting for a while in a pile of old tickets he'd forgotten to check.
After splitting the lump sum amount, each winner received a prize worth $173,819,742 before taxes.
8. Merle and Patricia Butler, The Three Amigos, and Anonymous - March 30, 2012 - $656 Million
The March 30, 2012 drawing had not one, not two, but three jackpot winners!
One of the three won in Kansas and made use of the state's laws to remain anonymous when accepting their $218.6 million piece of the prize money.
The second ticket belonged to a group of Maryland public school employees going by the name "The Three Amigos." Each of the three put in $20 in order to collectively buy sixty tickets. In return for that $20, they ended up splitting $218.6 million!
The last ticket belonged to a married couple - Merle and Patricia Butler from Red Bud, Illinois. Their lump sum payout ended up being worth $111 million after taxes.
7. Anonymous - September 10, 2024 - $810 Million
This win marked the third Mega Millions jackpot win of 2024. After 27 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, a sole winner emerged and brought home the $810 million jackpot. The winning ticket was purchased at Murphy USA in Sugar Land. The winning numbers were 1, 2, 16, 24, 66, and the Mega Ball was 6 (the Megaplier was 4).
6. Wolverine FFL Club - January 22, 2021 - $1.05 Billion
After a record thirty-seven rollovers, the Mega Millions jackpot was over the billion dollar barrier and sitting at a staggering $1.05 billion!
According to CNN, the ticket had been purchased by a lottery club called The Wolverine FFL Club, from Oakland County, Michigan.
The group decided to take the winnings in a lump sum of $776 million which was worth $557 million after taxes - netting just under $140 million for each participant.
A lawyer accepted the jackpot check and read out a statement on the group's behalf, saying, "This kind of money will impact the families of our club members for generations to come. We plan to stay humble and pay it forward through charitable giving in southeast Michigan."
5. Anonymous - 26 March 2024 - $1.13 Billion
A Mega Millions ticket purchased in New Jersey secured the fifth-largest jackpot in the game's history. The draw awarded an estimated $1.13 billion to the sole ticket holder after several rollovers. Officials confirmed the win in New Jersey but did not immediately disclose the specific location where the winning ticket was sold.
The winning draw consisted of the numbers 7, 11, 22, 29, 38, with the Mega Ball being 4.
4. Anonymous - July 29, 2022 - $1.337 Billion
Mega Millions broke the billion-dollar barrier a third time in July 2022 after three months of rollovers that had the whole world scrambling to purchase tickets.
Finally, on July 29, 2022, a single ticket sold in Illinois managed to match the winning numbers: 13, 36, 45, 57, 67, as well as the Mega Ball number 14. Once all was said and done, the prize had reached $1.337 billion (or $780.5 million in cash).
3. Anonymous - January 13, 2023 - $1.348 Billion
When it comes to New Years celebrations, few could have been as spectacular as Mega Millions’s billion-dollar introduction to 2023.
Reaching a massive $1.348 billion ($723.5 million cash), a single ticket matched all 5 regular numbers, 30, 43, 45, 46, and 61, as well as Mega Ball 14 to win the first Mega Millions jackpot ever for the state of Maine!
2. Anonymous - October 23, 2018 - $1.537 Billion
So what was the second largest Mega Millions jackpot ever?
Unfortunately, but understandably, the winner of the largest Mega Millions jackpot chose to remain anonymous so we don't much about them other than that the ticket was sold in South Carolina with the winning numbers 5, 28, 62, 65, and 50, plus the Mega Ball 5.
The draw took place on October 23, 2018. Before the draw, lottery officials actually expected the jackpot to be the biggest of any lottery ever, but slightly lower ticket sales than estimated meant it didn't quite beat Powerball's $1.58 billion record. Still, $1.537 billion is no mean feat!
We may never know who exactly won the money, but CBS News estimated that the cash value was $913 million.
What was the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever?
1. Anonymous - August 8, 2023 - $1.602 Billion
So what was the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever?
A remarkable Mega Millions jackpot run finally came to an end after 31 drawings without a big win, a lucky ticket-holder from Florida got to celebrate the Summer of 2023 with a record-sized MEGA jackpot, worth $1.602 billion ($794.2 million cash) after the August 8 2023 lottery draw.
The winning numbers in the draw were the white balls 13, 19, 20, 32, and 33, and the gold Mega Ball 14. Previously, two Florida jackpot wins have been shared with other states, including last October's $502 million prize shared with California.
Who will be the next biggest Mega Millions winner?
It's impossible to know who the next biggest Mega Millions winner will be, but with Mega Millions's incredibly low odds of 1:302.6 million, the lottery definitely hopes to eventually steal the top prize away from Powerball and its massive jackpots.
Try your luck at Mega Millions next jackpot by purchasing your lottery tickets before the next draw!