Winning the lottery is one of the rarest strokes of luck in the world — yet a handful of people have walked away with sums most of us can’t imagine. The most successful lottery winners ever didn’t use a secret system; they bought a ticket and hit odds in the hundreds of millions to one. This guide profiles five of the biggest and most famous verified jackpot winners, with the real amounts they won, what they actually took home after taxes, and what their stories tell you about sudden wealth.
A quick honesty note up front: figures for lottery winners get exaggerated online, so every number below is drawn from official lottery announcements and major news coverage. Where a claim is harder to verify, we say so.
The Biggest Lottery Winners at a Glance
| Winner | Jackpot | Year | Took home | Confidence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwin Castro | $2.04 billion (Powerball) | 2022–23 | ~$628.5M lump sum | High — California disclosure + national news |
| Manuel Franco | $768.4 million (Powerball) | 2019 | ~$326M after tax | High — Wisconsin Lottery + ABC/NBC |
| Mavis Wanczyk | $758.7 million (Powerball) | 2017 | ~$336M after tax | High — official Powerball + CBS |
| Gloria MacKenzie | $590.5 million (Powerball) | 2013 | ~$278M after tax | High — Florida Lottery + ABC |
| Joan Ginther | ~$20.4M across 4 Texas wins | 1993–2010 | Varies | Medium — amounts reported; “system” claims unproven |
1. Edwin Castro — $2.04 Billion Powerball
In November 2022, a single Powerball ticket sold in California won the largest lottery jackpot in history: $2.04 billion. The winner, Edwin Castro, came forward in early 2023 (California law makes winners’ names public) and chose the lump-sum option, reportedly receiving about $628.5 million before personal taxes. He has since become the most talked-about lottery winner of the modern era.
2. Manuel Franco — $768.4 Million Powerball
In April 2019, Manuel Franco, a 24-year-old from Wisconsin, claimed a $768.4 million Powerball prize — at the time the third-largest in US history. He took the cash option of roughly $477 million and walked away with just over $326 million after taxes, famously revealing he’d had under $1,000 in his bank account beforehand.
3. Mavis Wanczyk — $758.7 Million Powerball
Mavis Wanczyk of Massachusetts won $758.7 million in August 2017 — then the biggest jackpot ever taken by a single ticket. She chose the lump sum of about $480.5 million and received roughly $336 million after taxes. She quit her hospital job the same week, calling the win “a dream.”
4. Gloria MacKenzie — $590.5 Million Powerball
At 84 years old, Florida’s Gloria MacKenzie became one of the oldest people ever to win a giant jackpot, claiming $590.5 million in 2013. She took a lump sum and kept about $278 million after taxes. Her story later became a cautionary one about managing newfound wealth — a theme we explore in the top 5 dumbest lottery winners.
5. Joan Ginther — The Four-Time Texas Winner
Joan Ginther is the closest thing the lottery has to a legend: she won the Texas Lottery four times between 1993 and 2010, for a reported total of around $20.4 million. Because she holds a PhD in statistics, the internet decided she’d “cracked” the lottery — but no system has ever been proven, and statisticians point to sheer ticket volume and luck. Treat the “she beat the odds with math” stories with healthy skepticism.
Can You Repeat a Big Lottery Win?
No — and this is the part the viral stories get wrong. Lottery draws are random, and no strategy changes the odds of a given ticket. Buying more tickets buys more chances, not better ones, and the headline jackpots above are extreme statistical outliers, not blueprints. If you want to understand the scale, our roundup of the biggest lottery winnings in history puts these numbers in context.
One practical tip the big winners often share: where state law allows it, claiming anonymously can protect you from the wave of attention (and scams) that follows a win — see our guide on how to claim lottery winnings anonymously.
Celebrities Who Play the Lottery
The lottery’s pull reaches the rich and famous too — though, tellingly, the celebrities known for playing tend to do it for fun or charity, not as a wealth strategy:
- George Clooney reportedly bought around 1,000 SuperEnalotto tickets in 2010, planning to donate any winnings to Haiti earthquake relief (Elizabeth Hurley is said to have added 500 more).
- Madonna, a regular SuperEnalotto player, bought about 100 tickets during her 2012 European tour, won roughly €120,000, and donated it all to building schools in Malawi.
- Hugh Jackman has a long-running habit of buying ~500 tickets to hand out to his film crews.
- Sandra Bullock — an actual winner — took a $10,000 Powerball prize in 2006 and gave it away to others.
- Simon Cowell plays regularly despite his fortune, often funnelling winnings to charity.
The common thread is the same lesson as the jackpots above: even for the wealthy, the lottery is entertainment and goodwill, not income.
Conclusion
The most successful lottery winners ever share one thing: extraordinary, unrepeatable luck. From Edwin Castro’s record $2.04 billion to Joan Ginther’s four improbable Texas wins, their stories are fascinating precisely because they’re so rare. Enjoy the stories for what they are — and if you ever do hold a winning ticket, the smartest move is to slow down, get advice, and protect your privacy before you celebrate.
For verified details, see the official Powerball winner stories and major news coverage such as ABC News on Manuel Franco.
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