The Biggest Lottery Winners of All Time
The largest lottery jackpots have been won either through Mega Millions or Powerball. Here are the top 3 wins of all time:
First biggest win: $2.04 billion
The biggest win from a lottery ticket was won on November 7th, 2022, but the draw only took place on November 8th and was awarded to a ticket holder from California. The winning ticket had a prize of $2.04 billion and was awarded at the Powerball lottery. The winner’s name is Edwin Castro, who chose to cash out the entire $997.6 million in one go, paying over 50% in taxes.
Second biggest win – $1.60 Billion
The second biggest win was a Mega Millions jackpot of $1.602 billion on August 9th, 2023, in Florida. There’s no information about the winner, but according to the state’s lottery, it was sold in Publix supermarket in Neptune Beach.
Third biggest win – $1.56 Billion
The third biggest was a Powerball ticket won in 2016 when three players from California, Tennessee, and Florida split the grand prize of $1.56 billion. The couple from Tennessee was the first to claim part of the prize only two days after the announcement, taking home $327 million before taxes.
Crypto Lottery Winners
The biggest crypto lottery winning we could find is PoolTogether which yielded a user a win of $40,000 from just a $74 dollar worth ticket. The ticket was purchased using DAI. As the lottery is using crypto for payments, it’s also keeping players’ information anonymous, so there’s no way of knowing who the real winner of the prize is.
Playing the lottery with crypto has advantages compared with regular fiat since all information about the person’s financial and private information stays private. Players also aren’t required to appear to receive a big check and get their picture taken. Instead, all the proceedings go straight into the person’s crypto wallet.
How Jackpot Winners Navigate Their Fortunes
When you win the lottery, you have two options: to get the lump sum or have an annual payout. The biggest winner opted for a one-time sum and ended up paying taxes to the IRS. That’s why it’s best to get a financial advisor to help you navigate the storm of attention.
Lottery winners – at least the top have taken the same route. They bought a house, cars and took care of what they didn’t afford in the past. There are also cases when younger winners were awarded the money and burned through it in just a few years – and ended up suing the lottery for trusting them with the money. A jackpot win can accentuate a person’s character and any addictions a person might have. On the flip side, a French lottery winner set up an Anyama endowment after winning $200 million at the lottery. The foundation would focus on preserving nature and rebuilding ecosystems.
Winning the lottery is a double-edged sword. Not everyone has made the right choice, so it’s advisable to seek advisors who can handle the winnings and protect your wealth from scams and financial pitfalls. Any winner has to adjust to their financial status and not give in to millions of requests that can come your way – especially when you’re private. For example, one of the 2016 winners waited six months to announce their win and still lived a modest lifestyle.
What to Do When You Win the Lottery?
The first thing you have to do when winning the lottery is to understand you have gained a substantial amount of money, which can come with good and unwanted attention from multiple parties.
However, the first step to take when winnings a jackpot is to surround yourself with a team of experts that has to include: a financial expert, an accountant, and a lawyer to get the best deal from your winnings.
You then have to contact the lottery officials to secure your win but never shout tell too many people about your high payout. This leads us to keep your ticket safe. You won’t be able to claim your prize if you’ve lost your ticket, so it’s best to stay quiet until you have the cash in your hand.
Additionally, when talking to the lottery organizers, you have to consider how to receive your winnings. Getting a big cashout can decrease your winnings since you have to pay taxes – over 50% on your wins. There’s the option to get annual payments over a specified period which would increase your overall win – but won’t avoid taxation.
Finally, you have to adjust to the new reality. If you’ve won the jackpot, you’re a millionaire, and this comes with more attention. Plenty of stories of people trying to scam lottery winners, so be smart. Take time to process the events, stay off the radar by not showing off material things, and hire professionals to take care of your winnings.
What are the Advantages of Playing the Lottery with Crypto Instead of Fiat Money?
Using crypto for playing the lottery comes with one significant advantage – you stay anonymous! Crypto allows lottery players to fund their accounts, bet and cash out any jackpots without showing their faces. Crypto transactions are secure and sometimes private and don’t require additional verification when winning since payouts occur on-chain.
A clear example of this is one of the PoolTogether winners who paid a ticket using DAI, and once the draw was over, his account was immediately funded. A final benefit is that your crypto lottery wins are automatically paid out regardless of location.
Conclusion
Winning a lottery is life-changing money and can change the behavior of many, especially since they become publicly known figures. There aren’t as many crypto lotteries, but they provide an advantage over regular ones – they offer privacy and fast payouts with minimum taxation. How you use your money depends on your choice, and there are both success stories and less favorable stories where winners spend all their winnings on parties, leaving them with nothing. If you win the lottery, always take time to analyze and surround yourself with professionals who can help you make the right decisions.
Reviewed and Fact Checked by LC Stroud , Web3 Content Writer, Marketing & Growth Hacker