The biggest lottery jackpot of all time

The mouth-watering jackpot was won in January 2016 and was shared between three tickets, purchased in Tennessee, Florida and California.

Powerball winners have the opportunity to take their winnings as an annuity payment or as a lump-sum for a reduced amount. All three winners opted for the latter.

Nevertheless, the cash value of this huge jackpot still amounted to $983.5m. Even after it was split between the three winners, the winnings per ticket were €327.8m, significantly more than the biggest ever EuroMillions jackpot.

Unlike the UK where lottery winners can choose to remain anonymous, 43 states out of the 50 which make up the US, require lottery winners to reveal their identity. The public are always curious about who won the world’s biggest lottery jackpot and what they did with the money. What the winners say they will do at their press-conferences and what they really end up doing with their winnings can be very different. Here’s what the biggest ever lottery winners did with their cash:

The Robinson family - Tennessee

First to come forward to claim their prize was the Robinson family from Munford, Tennessee, who described themselves as “common folk from a small town”.

John Robinson, along with his wife Lisa and daughter Tiffany, announced their jackpot win live on television. The family even took their rescue dog, Abby, along with them to the studio.

The Robinsons decided to take the lump sum because “we’re not guaranteed tomorrow”, as Mr Robinson affirmed.
Initially the members of the family had no plans to quit their jobs as “you just can’t sit down, lay down and not do nothing anymore,” said Mr Robinson. They didn’t plan on moving into a mansion either.
However, the Munford’s were certainly keen to line their pockets as they came forward to claim their prize just two days after the draw.

Despite their initial humility, the temptation to splash the cash was clearly too much for the Robinson family to resist. A mere six months after their declarations live on television, the family who said they were “just like y’all” were no longer living like “common folk”.

According to a Tennessee tax assessor, the Robinsons had bought a 10-bedroom home on a huge 320-acre lot which includes a private lake, at a cost of $6.3 million.

No doubt they hired a cleaner as Mr Robinson had previously stated “these big fancy houses are nice, but you gotta clean ‘em”. That said, with their newfound wealth, the Robinsons would have no problem to employ a live-in butler, or a whole team of house staff for that matter.

Fred Williams, a neighbour of the Robinsons, claimed to have heard that Lisa Robinson went to work the day after they won “but wasn’t treated very good”.
Michelletta Crump, owner of Naifeh’s grocery store, where the lucky ticket was sold, didn’t blame the Robinson’s for their upgrade, “I think anybody from Munford would probably leave if they won that money…I would”, she confessed.

Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt - Florida

Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt, originally from Long Island, New York, but residents of Melbourne Beach, Florida, since 1991, took a month to claim their prize. Mr Kaltschmidt revealed that he had lost 10lbs from stress following the win.

Mrs Smith confessed to having no specific plans about what to do with the money, only that she “would like a massage”. With that sort of money, she could easily buy her own spa and get a massage everyday if she liked!
Mr Kaltschmidt could join her at his leisure as he announced he would be retiring from his career in engineering. He said he would be looking to buy “a new car”.

The couple set up a trust called the Nickel 95 Trust to manage the money but did not reveal any further details.

Unlike the Robinsons, Smith and Kaltschmidt seemed to be in no rush to drastically alter their lifestyles. A year later, they had not moved home, barely upgraded their cars, were still using reusable shopping bags…and were STILL playing the lottery.

Rather than buying a new car, Kaltschmidt simply upgraded to a new, gold, model of his existing Yukon Denali SUV. On the other hand, Smith had bought a $90,000 Tesla and used the vehicle to do her grocery shopping at the Publix shop where the couple had bought the ticket, and where they continue to purchase lottery tickets from.

To be fair, Smith and Kaltschmidt were already living quite a comfortable lifestyle in very pleasant part of Florida and Kaltschmidt owned a small 15ft fishing boat, which he did not upgrade.

A neighbour, named Jim, said “there’s no luxury yacht moored out the back and no real changes. They were nice, humble people before, and they are exactly the same now - although I've never asked them for anything.”

Smith was 70 and Kaltschmidt was 55 at the time of their win. They were clearly already enjoying their lives and seem to be continuing to do so, without any financial stress.  

Marvin and Mae Acosta - California
Meanwhile, it took six months for Marvin and Mae Acosta to come forward and claim the prize which they described as “rare gift that has been placed in our care.”

The lucky ticket was purchased at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Chino Hills, California. The convenience store also bagged a very tidy $1 million bonus for selling the winning ticket.

No doubt it would be very tempting to take the money and run, as soon as possible, but the Acosta’s managed to stay calm and level-headed, heeding the advice of California Lottery Director Hugo Lopez, who stated that the couple had “read (the California State Lottery) Winner’s Handbook and assembled a team of legal and financial advisors to help them make the most of this windfall and prepare them for their new life”.

The Acosta’s themselves claimed that they had “committed nearly all of this new resource to a Trust and to charities that are important (to them)’.

Quite soundly, they added “it is not our intention to become public figures, and we ask for and appreciate privacy going forward”.

Bet on Powerball from the UK

Until not long ago, UK punters were unable to be in with a chance to win jackpots the size of those offered across the pond. However, all this changed when Lottoland stepped onto the scene in 2015, shaking up the lottery industry.

Lottoland offers UK punters the chance to bet on the outcome of lotteries from around the world, including Powerball and its rival, MegaMillions.
The UK has already had 116 EuroMillions jackpot winners, only France has produced more, with 118 French winners.

With UK lottery enthusiasts now able to bet on the Powerball from the UK, it may only be a matter of time before we have a billion-dollar lottery winner from the UK. Although we may never know who the winner (or winners) are, as Lottoland winners can remain anonymous.