Top 9 Largest Mega Millions Jackpot Wins
Updated August 2023
Producing billion-dollar jackpot after billion-dollar jackpot, playing Mega Millions gives ordinary Oregonians a chance to win extraordinary prizes. With such low winning chances, it can sometimes feel like no one has a real shot at beating the odds, but the winners listed on this page prove that it happens - and when it does it's life changing. So what are the 9 largest Mega Millions jackpots in history? Read on to find out!
What are the biggest Mega Millions jackpots ever?
9. 11 California Coworkers - July 24, 2018 - $543 Million
Many coworkers have office lotto pools, but few have gotten lucky as 11 finance employees in Santa Clara, California. Their finances went through the roof on July 24, 2018, when the $2 they'd each thrown in for Mega Millions tickets turned into a jackpot valued at over half a billion dollars!
The $320.5 million lump sum was accepted by one member of the group, Roland Reyes. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the whole affair is that the employees decided to continue working as usual. As they told NBC News, "We want to keep our jobs. We love that company. We love what we've built there. We have a good time and want to stay together."
8. Ira Curry and Steve Tran - December 17, 2013 - $648 Million
After 20 winless rollovers, the 21st ended with not one, but two winners!
The first lucky ticket belonged to 56-year-old Ira Curry of Stone Mountain, Georgia, who had used family birthdays and his own personal lucky number to score his share of the $648 million jackpot.
The second ticket was turned in by Steve Tran of Sane Jose, California, who almost missed out on the massive win after forgetting to check his stack of tickets. Good thing he eventually remembered, as the two men each walked away with about $172 million before taxes.
7. Merle and Patricia Butler, The Three Amigos, and Anonymous - March 30, 2012 - $656 Million
The only thing more incredible than beating the astronomically low Mega Millions jackpot odds is having 3 different winning tickets beat them at the same time!
Ironically enough, the first of those three winning tickets came from a group going by the name The Three Amigos. The Three Amigos were, you guessed it, three members of a lottery pool. Having each put in $20 to collectively purchase 60 tickets, the Maryland public school employees walked away with a cool $218.6 million to split three ways.
The second ticket went to two people: married couple Merle and Patricia Butler of Red Bud, Illinois. After taxes, their lump sum payout was worth $111 million.
As for the third ticket, it was purchased in Kansas and the winner made use of the state's privacy laws to remain anonymous, so nothing else is known about them.
6. Wolverine FFL Club - January 22, 2021 - $1.05 Billion
It took what was at the time a record 37 rollovers for the jackpot to break the billion dollar barrier.
The $1.05 billion-winning ticket was purchased by a lottery club out of Oakland County, Michigan called The Wolverine FFL Club.
As reported in CNN, the group's lawyer accepted the $557 million lump sum (after taxes), which netted just under $140 million per participant.
"This kinnd of money will impact the families of our club members for generations to come," read a statement written by The Wolverine FFL Club. "We play to stay humble and pay it forward through charitable giving in southeast Michigan."
5. Anonymous - March 26, 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
After three months of rollovers, the whole country was scrambling for tickets for the massive July 29, 2022 draw - with a jackpot of $1.337 billlion up for grabs.
Who won that jackpot? We may never know, as the owner of the single winning ticket from Illinois remains anonymous to this day.
As for this anonymous players winnings - the prize was valued at $780.5 million in cash.
3. Anonymous - January 13, 2023 - $1.348 Billion
There are lots of flashy ways to ring in the new year, but few are as extravagant as a $1.348 billion jackpot!
Mega Millions explosive start to 2023 ended up with one lucky, anonymous winner from Maine matching all 5 regular numbers - 30, 43, 45, 46, and 61 - as well as the Mega Ball 14 to become the first ever player from the Pine Tree State to win a Mega Millions jackpot.
2. Anonymous - October 23, 2018 - $1.537 Billion
The second biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever was worth an unbelievable $1.537 billion and was drawn on October 23, 2018. So who won it?
Unfortunately, but understandably, like a lot of the biggest lottery winners this one also chose to remain anonymous.
What we do know is that the sole winning ticket was purchased in South Carolina, matching the winning numbers 5, 28, 62, 65, and 50, as well as the Mega Ball 5.
As for the final haul, CBS News put the estimated cash value at $913 million.
What's the number one Mega Millions highest jackpot?
1. Anonymous - August 8, 2023 - $1.602 Billion
The biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever worth $1.602 billion and was won on August 8, 2023.
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
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.
When will the next highest Mega Millions jackpot be?
There's no knowing when the next highest Mega Millions jackpot will come, but you can play for it the easy way by purchasing your lottery tickets online with theLotter Oregon.
Even if you don't win the jackpot, you could still wind up with an extraordinary prize thanks to the Mega Millions Megaplier.
Will we one day see your name on this list? Only time will tell!