Number 10: Marie Holmes, $188 Million Marie Holmes is first on our list,
a then 26-year-old working mother who won the $188 million jackpot. Before winning, Marie worked five
jobs to support her children until 2015. Holmes wanted to put her money to immediate good use,
finish up her degree and donate to some charities. Still, her ex-fiance Lamarr Andre said otherwise.
Suing Marie, Lamarr said that Marie had given away his dirt bike, repair shop,
and thousands of dollars of clothing and jewelry while he was in prison. But if you think that is
crazy, just wait for number one. #9 Jack Whittaker, $314 Million
Before winning, Whittaker was the president of Diversified Enterprises Construction in West
Virginia for 12 years. His net worth was already over $17 million before winning. Whittaker was out
for breakfast when he bought $100 worth of tickets on a whim because the Powerball was so high,
$314 Million-high. After winning, Jack took home the lump sum of $113 million after taxes.
This overwhelming amount of money for an already wealthy man came with a landslide of troubles.
From having his car broken into and thieves making off with hundreds of thousands of dollars to the
unfortunate death of his granddaughter, Brandi. The problems didn't stop there; being arrested
for DUI arrests, being sued by Caesar's Atlantic Casino, and the loss of his daughter and home,
the life of Jack ended on a low note. Whittaker died on June 27, 2020, following a long illness,
but no details were given. #8: Manuel Franco, $326 Million
Manuel took home $326 million after a $10 ticket purchase. Before winning,
Manuel had trouble with money and was desperate for a big break. And when that break came,
it came in the millions on April 23, 2019. Like all other lottery winners, Manuel had imposters
on the internet claiming his identity to try and scam people for personal data. So where is
Manuel now? According to his attorney, Manuel dropped off the internet for privacy reasons.
Manuel last said wanting to use the money to travel and help out his parents. What he is doing
now remains a mystery, but we can confidently say his financial burdens were lifted.
#7: Robert Bailey, $344 Million. Robert split the winnings with Lerynne West.
Taking home half of the $687.8 million Powerball jackpot on October 27,
2018, Bailey immediately hired a lawyer and financial advisor to help in keeping
his newfound wealth. Smart move, since 70% of jackpot winners go broke in seven years,
according to the New York Daily. Bailey says he wants to do right
by his family and the next generation and invest his money wisely. Other than that,
Bailey has been pretty tight-lipped about how he's spending his time and his money.
#6: Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmitdt, $528.8 Million
Counting down to number three comes with a rare and rather odd case in the form of a Florida
couple Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt. Both won $528.8 million in January 2016,
but their lives had virtually no change, unlike others on this list.
The couple tried to keep their life private and tried not to tell many they had won the lottery.
They still live in the same house they did before winning the lottery, own the same boat, but
only upgraded their cars. Maureen and David said they hired financial advisors, but besides that,
Coming in at number five is a small-town Missouri family, the Hills. In their early fifties,
with three of their own adult children, the couple raised a then-6-year-old adopted daughter from
China. The time before winning was rocky for the Hills. Mark Hill was working in a meat processing
factory, and Cindy Hill had been laid off from her job as an office manager. In November 2012,
the Powerball was at the highest it had ever been at the time: $587 million. The Hill
family weren't counting on anything significant and bought a ticket on a whim, not expecting
anything to come of it. Suddenly and overnight, a struggling family found themselves with $587
million. Taking the lump sum option, they walked away with $300 Million after taxes.
After earning their money, the Hills took a trip to Ireland with their family and invested in the
local community sewage plant. In 2014 the Hills announced they would fund the construction of
a new ambulance station. Unfortunately, Mark Hill passed away on March 20, 2019,
and the funeral was closed to the public. Number 4: Gloria McKenzie, $590 Million
At number 4 is Gloria McKenzie, who won the Powerball at the age of 84. McKenzie claimed
a single lump-sum payment of $370 million before taxes on June 5, 2013, in Tallahassee, Florida.
However, McKenzie had fallen into a trap set by her son and financial advisor. Even though
McKenzie took home $278 million, a substantial amount, after taxes, and gave control of money to
her son, Scott. Scott then shared the management of McKenzie's winnings to a financial advisor
Harry "Hank" Madden. According to a lawsuit filed by Gloria McKenzie and her attorney,
Madden had no experience managing millions of dollars worth of money and invested it too
conservatively, resulting in low returns. On top of low investment returns,
McKenzie ended up totaling $2 million in fees! When asked about the conservative investments,
Scott McKenzie claims that his mother agreed to low-risk investments
knowing the returns would be minimal. Greg Anderson, McKenzie's attorney,
said that the moral of the story is: vet your financial advisors carefully.
What we say is don't trust anyone with your money but yourself.
Research and plan carefully. Number 3: Lerynne West, $688 Million
On October 27, 2018, two tickets from Iowa and New York split the $687.8 Powerball jackpot.
The winner Lerynne West almost lost her Powerball ticket while she was moving out of her house. West
worked at a local health insurance company for years until she learned about her winning ticket
and soon retired. West has vowed to use her money for good, establishing the Callum Foundation named
after her late son, who was born prematurely, setting money aside for her grandchildren's
college education, and even giving some money to friends and family. See? Not everyone who wins
the lottery is keeping it all to themselves. Much like others on the list, Lerynne faced a
wave of online impersonators promising money for personal information. It's hard to tell who fell
into those traps, but Lerynne and her family have pleaded for people not to fall victim to
lies and fake online accounts. #2: Mavis Wanczyk , $758.7 Million
The winner of $758.7 million Powerball is Mavis Wanczyk from Massachusetts, on August 23, 2017.
This smashed the previous record for the biggest win on a single ticket. Mave was 53-years-old,
mother of two, at the time of her winning, and took home $336 million after taxes. Before
winning the Powerball, Mavis worked at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts,
in patient care for 32 years. Immediately after her win, Mavis cut her job loose and never
returned. The dream of anyone who finds themself with a sudden and substantial amount of money.
Bad luck followed Mavis following her win. After her identity was made public, people from all
over were trying to find out where Mavis lived. They went as far as knocking on doors around her
town to try and find her address. The problem became so rampant that police had to keep watch
and make sure Mavis and her family were safe. That isn't the end of the woes that followed
Mavis's winning of the Powerball. People were receiving messages from a fake Mavis Wanczyk
promising to give away her winnings for personal information on social
media and through text messages. So what is Mavis Wanczyk doing now with
all her earnings? Lotterycritic.com asked her that very same question,
and Mavis's response was: "I just want to sit back and relax. And I had a pipe dream, and my
pipe dream has finally come true. And I wanted to retire in twelve years, and it came early."
Mavis hasn't been active on social media, nor is there any public information of where she is
and what she is doing now. Winning the lottery and having your name released to the public
isn't as glamorous as one probably wishes. Number 1: John and Lisa Robison, $1.6 BILLION
In January 2016, the Powerball hit the height of $1.6 billion. Everyone started buying tickets
knowing that someone, somewhere, had to win. In fact, three people won. John and Lisa Robison
were one-third of the winners choosing to take home the lump sum of $327.8 million before taxes.
The couple appeared on the Today Show before collecting their lottery money and hired
an attorney. Lisa wanted to live a simple and ordinary life and keep going to work,
but their public announcement drew unwanted attention and odd looks,
so she quit. Modest life out the window, the Robisons bought a mansion estimated at