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Top 10 Biggest Lottery Jackpots
What are the biggest lottery jackpots of all time? You've probably heard about the record-breaking billion dollar American Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots in the USA in 2016 and more recently in 2018 - here are the other biggest payouts of all time, ranked from biggest jackpot to smallest jackpot. Note that because the United States taxes lottery winnings this reduces the actual payout of jackpots for lotteries like Powerball and Mega Millions - therefore the actual cash value amount is shown below in brackets.
| Rank | Jackpot | Lottery | Date | Winning Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | USD$1.586 billion ($983.5 million) | Powerball (USA) | January 13th, 2016 | 3 (CA, FL, TN) |
| 2nd | USD$1.537 billion ($887.8 million) | Mega Millions (USA) | October 23rd, 2018 | 1 (SC) |
| 3rd | USD$758.7 million ($480.5 million) | Powerball (USA) | August 23rd, 2017 | 1 (MA) |
| 4th | USD$687.8 million ($396.2 million) | Mega Millions (USA) | October 23rd, 2018 | 2 (IA, NY) |
| 5th | USD$656 million ($474 million) | Mega Millions (USA) | March 30th, 2012 | 3 (IL, KS, MD) |
| 6th | USD$648 million ($347.6 million) | Powerball (USA) | December 17th, 2013 | 2 (CA, GA) |
| 7th | USD$590.5 million ($370.9 million) | Powerball (USA) | May 18th, 2013 | 1 (FL) |
| 8th | USD$587.5 billion ($384.7 billon) | Powerball (USA) | November 28th, 2012 | 2 (AZ, MO) |
| 9th | USD$564.1 million ($381.1 million) | Powerball (USA) | February 11th, 2015 | 3 (NC, PR, TX) |
| 10th | USD$536 million ($378.3 million) | Mega Millions (USA) | July 8th, 2016 | 1 (IN) |
Our Methods
We accounted for the net jackpot, the sum an individual winner received after tax, or would have received. Lottery winnings are taxable in the U.S., in contrast to Germany and most European countries. For U.S. lotteries we therefore take taxes into account in order to have a fair comparison of actual winnings. Typically, lottery winnings in the U.S. are taxed at an average rate of 25-40%. We used a value of 38%. Note: It is common for U.S. lotteries to pay out lottery jackpots as annuity ("Annuity Option") over several years (e.g. winnings of Mega Millions will be paid out over 30 years).
Record jackpots won at Lottoland will be paid out without tax deductions.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lottery_jackpot_records
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotto#Eurojackpot_in_Europa
http://www.megamillions.com/difference-between-cash-value-and-annuity
http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2012/03/30/how-much-tax-will-you-owe-on-540-million-jackpot/