The largest Mega Millions ever were the $1.58 billion ones held in August 2023. There’s a new-made millionaire (or even a billionaire) every year.
There have been plenty of big jackpots won as of late, like the two players who made New Jersey history by winning million-dollar jackpots at DraftKings one day after another. We wanted to let you know about the largest Mega Millions jackpots in the game’s history as it continues to set records.
1. $1.58 billion (FL)
We don’t know a whole lot about this winner as it just happened. On August 8, 2023, a fortunate Floridian won the largest Mega Millions jackpot in history.
2. $1.537 Billion (SC)
The fortunate millionaire is an unnamed participant from the little South Carolina town of Simpsonville. Not only did the SC resident win it big, but the state itself also profited, as the winning ticket generated $61,000,000 in income tax.
3. $1.348 Billion (ME)
The first ever Mega Millions jackpot in Maine was won on Friday the 13th (January 13, 2023). A winning ticket was sold in Lebanon, Maine, at Hometown Gas & Grill.
4. $1.337 Billion (IL)
The second-largest Mega Millions reward ever was won by a fortunate Illinois Lottery player. The Illinois Lottery said that, as of the time of writing, it had not heard from the new multimillionaire. So you better check your tickets! This mystery winner wasn’t the only one to strike it rich, about 23 cents of every dollar spent on the Illinois Lottery is donated to charities and educational institutions all around the state.
5. $1.05 Billion (MI)
On January 22, 2021, the Mega Millions drawing resulted in a $1 billion jackpot that was split among a Detroit lottery club with four players. The “Wolverine FLL Club” lottery pool had the good fortune to possess the ONE and ONLY jackpot-winning ticket. According to the lottery club members, this type of money will have an effect on their families for many decades to come.
6. $656 Million (IL, KS, and MD)
On March 30, 2012, this enormous prize was shared among three different winning tickets. Two of the three winning tickets were Quick Picks, which were given computer-generated numbers at random.
7. $648 Million (CA and GA)
Each winner of the two winning tickets that were sold on December 17, 2013, one in Georgia and one in California, received $324 million. The Georgia winner said that, after verifying his numbers, he left a voice-mail to his boss, saying that he won’t go to work tomorrow or, in fact, ever.
8. $543 Million (CA)
Thanks to their workplace pool, a group of 11 coworkers divided their $543 million jackpot on July 24, 2018. All 11 members were at the time employed at Wells Fargo in San Jose.
9. $536 MIllion (IN)
An Indiana couple who had purchased five Quick Pick tickets while on a road trip on July 8, 2016, hit the huge prize. The winning family was able to remain anonymous by claiming their award via a state-licensed legal office.
10. $533 Million (NJ)
On March 30, 2018, a guy from NО won the biggest prize in the history of the state. He then received a one-time lump sum payment, which was around $175 million after taxes. He rebuilt a 1964 Corvette with his good fortune and intended to give a sizable portion of the proceeds to charity.
Mega Million Winners By State
And now let’s look at the states that saw the most Mega Million winners in history.
- NY – 43
- CA – 33
- NJ – 22
- OH – 20
- MI – 18
- GA – 17
There are also many states that, sadly, haven’t seen a single winner thus far. These are CO, CT, DE, DC, IA, KY, LA, MS, MT, NE, NM, ND, OK, OR, VT, VI, WV, and WY.