New world record: Single ticket bags US Powerball's R38.9bn jackpot

The world-record-breaking US Powerball jackpot was finally won this month. It's the largest main prize in the history of the draw. People about the world were waiting with bated breath to see who — if anyone — would win before the next rollover.

With a jackpot weighing in at a whopping $2.04bn (about R34.9bn), this is the fifth time in the last five years that the prize in the US Powerball lottery has reached the billion-dollar mark. 

Worth the wait

There was a delay to the historic draw, but it was well worth the wait. The draw was meant to happen on the evening on November 7 in the US. Instead, it occurred almost 10 hours later due to some problems related to ticket sales data.

The jackpot had grown for about three months, across several rollovers, before eventually settling on that $2.04bn. The single winning ticket was sold at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California.

As a reward for being the location where the winning ticket was sold, the owner of Joe's Service Center was given a $1m bonus. The identity of the person who bought the ticket is still unknown. 

While there are many states in the US where lottery winners don't have to disclose their identity, in California it's a must. Soon enough, hopefully before the year-long deadline to claim the prize expires, the big winner's identity will be known.

The winner can choose to get their winnings in annuities over 30 years or as a single lump sum, which is smaller but quicker than endowments over three decades. For this $2.04bn jackpot, the lump sum payment would be about $998m.

But where does this latest mega amount rank in terms of the biggest US lottery jackpots of all time? It certainly is the highest, but take a look at some of its predecessors:

$1.59bn in 2016

Back in January 2016, three winning tickets were sold for the $1.59bn US Powerball jackpot. John and Lisa Robinson of Tennessee; Marvin and Mae Acosta from California; and Florida's Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt shared the prize. At least two of the three couples opted for the lump sum option to the tune of $328m each.

$1.54bn in 2018

In October 2018, a South Carolina winner chose to remain anonymous after claiming the $1.54bn jackpot prize in the Mega Millions draw. They took their time in coming forward, eventually doing so a mere month short of the deadline. They, too, opted for the lump sum of about $878m. After South Carolina tax, that was about $492m.

$1.05bn in 2021

Again, in the Mega Millions draw, January 2021 yielded a $1.05bn jackpot win. The winning ticket was bought by four participants in a lottery club in Detroit. Their lawyer, Kurt Panouses, claimed the prize on their behalf. He said: “This kind of money will impact the families of our club members for generations to come. We plan to stay humble and pay it forward.”

$1.34bn in 2022

July 2022's Mega Millions jackpot win was $1.34bn, but that dropped to $780m after the winner — again — opted for the lump sum. They chose to remain anonymous as well.

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