One of the smartest way to grow your wealth is through investing, but this is not the only way. Thanks to the lottery, a number of people have succeeded in becoming millionaires overnight. You can also take the chance and join the list. All you have to do is buy lottery tickets and who knows? You just might end up winning the big jackpot. Don’t you want to take millions home? Mentioned here are the 5 biggest US lottery prizes every given out and you can also join them if you choose the right numbers:
Prize 1: $1.586 billion (Powerball)
The biggest prize in history was drawn on January 13th, 2016 and there were three winning tickets. Florida’s Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt, Tennessee’s Lisa and John Robinson and California’s Mae and Marvin Acosta had the option of taking home $327.8 million as a one-time lump sum payment or $533 million as annuity before taxes. The Robinson’s had bought four tickets from the grocery store and one of them turned out to be the winner. They opted to take the lump sum as did Smith and Kaltschmidt from Florida. The latter were planning to upgrade their truck, get massages and retire due to their newfound health. For months, the Acostas stayed anonymous and only said they were thankful for the rare gift they had gotten.
Prize 2: $656 million (Mega Millions)
There were three winning tickets in the March, 2012 draw of the Mega Millions lottery. Hailing from Illinois, Patricia and Merle Butler took home $218.6 million of the jackpot. Three school employees had won from Maryland, but since the state allows lottery winners to stay anonymous, they claimed their prize under the name of ‘The Three Amigos’. Likewise, the third winner from Kansas also chose to stay anonymous.
Prize 3: $648 million (Mega Millions)
The Mega Millions lottery in December 2013 was won by Steve Tran of California and Ira Curry of Georgia. After winning, Tran called his boss and said he wouldn’t come in to work ever. He had purchased several lottery tickets from Jennifer’s Gift Shop, one of which won him the jackpot. According to the state’s laws, the shop was given $1 million as a gift. Curry had made a last-minute decision to buy the tickets and had used her lucky number and family birthdays for choosing the number. They opted for the lump-sum payment of $173 million.
Prize 4: $590.5 million (Powerball)
Gloria Mackenzie won the jackpot of $590 million in May 2013. This was the biggest prize to be won by one person in American history. She opted to get the lump-sum payment of $370 million before taxes.
Prize 5: $587.5 million (Powerball)
In November 2012, Cindy and Mark Hill won $293.7 million of the jackpot. Their 6-year-old daughter asked for a pony, but they opted to go on vacations and save the money for college instead. The winner from Arizona chose not to reveal his identity, but it was later revealed that Matthew Good had won the other half of the jackpot.