Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots have reached $1 billion 13 times in history, with the most recent win coming on Sept. 6, 2025, with a $1.787 billion Powerball jackpot.
Compared to previous years, it’s an interesting phenomenon, as 2023 saw four billion-dollar lottery jackpots, and there were three billion-dollar totals in 2024.
The previous billion-dollar lottery jackpot occurred during the 2024 holiday season. After three months of Mega Millions rollovers − from Sept. 13, 2024, a Friday the 13th, to Dec. 24, 2024, or Christmas Eve − the grand prize went from $20 million to a whopping $970 million. A Christmas Eve rollover led to the $1.22 billion Mega Millions drawing for Dec. 27, 2024. California resident Rosemary Casarotti collected the grand prize, according to California Lottery officials.
Who won the largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history? Who have been Ohio’s biggest winners? Here are some things to know about Powerball winners, Mega Millions winners, those (other) billion-dollar drawings and a list from lowest total to highest.
Powerball made history on Jan. 11, 2016, the first time a lottery jackpot hit $1 billion. When 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.
But that wasn’t the largest jackpot ever, and the Sept. 6, 2025, Powerball jackpot of $1.787 billion Powerball prize was the second-largest lottery jackpot of all time.
The largest jackpot won in Ohio came from Mega Millions.
Brian C. Mulhall claimed a $372 million prize in trust on Dec. 17, 2019, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The ticket was purchased at a Giant Eagle in Mentor.
The biggest Powerball win in Ohio came in June 2010, when an anonymous winner claimed the $261.6 million jackpot through a blind trust, according to Jackpot.com. The ticket was purchased at a carryout store in Sunbury. The winner opted for a lump sum, taking home $135 million before taxes.
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. Kurt Panouses, an Indialantic Florida-based attorney who represents lottery winners, represented the Wolverine FLL Club. The winning ticket was purchased from a Kroger grocery store in Novi, Michigan.
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 was purchased in Neptune, New Jersey, for the March 26, 2024, Mega Millions drawing for $1.128 billion. The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, finally came forward a day before Christmas Eve, or Dec. 23, 2024.
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 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.
One ticket, three winners: A single ticket was purchased by Cheng and Duanpen Saephan and Laiza Chao of Oregon for $1.326 billion Powerball prize on April 6, 2024.
A single ticket in Illinois won the July 29, 2022, Mega Millions drawing. Two people who wished to remain anonymous claimed the $1.337 billion jackpot.
A single ticket in Maine claimed 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.
A single ticket was purchased in South Carolina for the Oct. 23, 2018, Mega Millions drawing. The $1.537 billion winner was never revealed. Winners in South Carolina can remain anonymous.
A single ticket sold at a Publix in Neptune Beach, Florida, won the Mega Millions drawing for Aug. 8, 2023. The $1.58 billion winner claimed the prize on Sept. 25, 2023, and the Florida Lottery announced the winner — Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami — on Dec. 27, 2023. Their actual identity remains a mystery. In Florida, it is public record to know the identities of lottery winners and where the winning ticket was sold, but lottery experts have said there are ways to remain anonymous.
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 NBC’s “Today” show with Savannah Guthrie and Carson Daly to declare themselves the winners.
For the $1.73 billion Powerball prize for Oct. 11, 2023, Theodorus Struyck of California came forward to claim the ticket. California Lottery said he represented a group of winners. In California, a big jackpot winner must claim the ticket in person. It was purchased at Midway Market in California.
In just under three months, the Powerball lottery that started on June 2, 2025, at $20 million grew to an estimated $1.787 billion, for Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. On Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, lottery officials announced this series crossed the billion-dollar mark.
A pair of tickets sold in Texas and Missouri won and split the jackpot.
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, but lottery ticket sales helped it grow to more than $2 billion after updated calculations. A single ticket purchased in California won the grand prize, and 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.
It varies depending on the number of rollovers and ticket sales. Sometimes it’s just over two or three months of drawings.
Prizes for Ohio Lottery must be claimed within 180 days (six months) from the date of the drawing.
As of Aug. 31, 2025, there have been 13 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.