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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 Powerball jackpot in the USA in 2016 - here are the other 9 biggest payouts of all time, ranked from biggest to smallest. 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. In Ireland and most European countries lottery winnings are not taxed. Below the biggest American jackpots are the biggest European jackpots, all belonging to EuroMillions which available in Ireland. The most famous Irish EuroMillions winner is Dolores McNamara of Limerick who won €115 million in July 2005.
| Rank | Jackpot | Lottery | Date | Winning Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | USD$1.586 billion ($983.5 million) | Powerball | January 13th, 2016 | 3 (CA, FL, TN) |
| 2nd | USD$758.7m ($480.5m) | Powerball | August 23rd, 2017 | 3 (MA) |
| 3rd | USD$656m ($474m) | Mega Millions | March 30th, 2012 | 3 (KS, IL, MD) |
| 4th | USD$648m($347.6m) | Powerball (USA) | December 17th, 2013 | 2 (CA, GA) |
| 5th | USD$590.5m ($370.9m) | Powerball | May 18th, 2013 | 1 (FL) |
| 6th | $587.5m ($384.7m) | Powerball | November 28th, 2012 | 2 (AZ, MO) |
| 7th | USD$564.1m ($381.1m) | Powerball | February 11th, 2015 | 3 (NC, PR, TX) |
| 8th | USD$559.7m ($352m) | Powerball | January 6th, 2018 | 1 (NH) |
| 9th | USD$543 million ($320.5 million) | Mega Millions (USA) | July 24th, 2018 | 1 (IN) |
| 10th | USD$536 million ($378.3 million) | Mega Millions | July 8th, 2016 | 2 (MN, NJ) |
| 1st EuroMillions | €190 million | EuroMillions | October 6th 2017 | 1 Anonymous (Spain) |
| 2nd EuroMillions | €190 million | EuroMillions | October 24th 2014 | 1 Anonymous (Portugal) |
| 3rd EuroMillions | €190 million | EuroMillions | August 10th 2012 | Colin and Christine Weir (UK) |
| 4th EuroMillions | €185 million | EuroMillions | July 12th 2011 | Adrian and Gillian Bayford (UK) |
| 5th EuroMillions | €169,837 million | EuroMillions | November 13th 2012 | Anonymous (France) |
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 25-35%. We used a value of 30%. 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/