Mega Millions Jackpot Worth More Than Michael Jackson’s Song Catalog

You may have heard the news this week that an appeals court in California has made a final ruling on Michael Jackson’s estate, enabling Sony Music Group to complete its purchase of the late “King of Pop’s” music catalog for $600 million.

Well, if someone wins Friday’s Mega Millions lottery, they’ll have enough money to buy that song catalog right out from under Sony. (Or at least they will in 29 years, after the annuity is paid out. And if they don’t pay any taxes on their winnings. Let’s not get bogged down in the details.)

The bottom line is that the Mega Millions jackpot’s value, on paper, exceeds that $600 million mark, as there’s an estimated $627 million up for grabs in Friday’s drawing. The lump-sum cash option is estimated at $309.1 million.

If someone wins, it would be the ninth-largest prize awarded in Mega Millions history, and the 22nd biggest in the history of U.S. draw lotteries, counting either Mega Millions or Powerball jackpots. This is the most lucrative prize in either lottery since April 6, when a small group of players in Oregon won Powerball for $1.326 billion.

The bottom line is, if someone claims the jackpot Friday, it’ll be a real Thriller for them, and they can tell their boss to Beat It.

Millionaires and double millionaires

The jackpot has grown about $45 million since Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, which had winning numbers of 16, 18, 21, 54, 65, and gold Mega Ball 5. Nobody went six-for-six to claim the $582 million grand prize, but two tickets — both sold in South Carolina — connected on all five white balls. One of those tickets was worth $1 million, and the other, which played the Megaplier, was worth $2 million.

This was 24th Mega Millions drawing in a row without a jackpot winner, dating back to June 4.

Lottery Geeks estimates that 28.85 million tickets were purchased for Tuesday’s drawing, up significantly from an estimated 24.6 million last Friday. It will be interesting to see if this Friday’s drawing for over $600K can exceed 30 million in sales.

The Powerball jackpot is back on the rise as well — though it’s dwarfed by Mega Millions at the moment. There were two winner-less drawings this week, on Monday and Wednesday, bringing the modest streak to four since an Aug. 19 win in California. The jackpot now sits at an estimated $69 million (cash value: $34.3 million) for Saturday night’s draw.

Monday’s drawing, with winning numbers of 2, 4, 23, 68, and 69 with a red Powerball of 15, produced no million-dollar prizes. Wednesday’s game, which had winning numbers 5, 33, 47, 50, and 64 with a red Powerball of 20, awarded $1 million to a player in Georgia and $2 million to a Wisconsin customer who added the Power Play.

Tickets for either Mega Millions or Powerball cost $2, with the option in most states to play the multiplier for an additional $1.

Both lotteries are available in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Tickets for both games are also sold in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Powerball tickets are also available in Puerto Rico.

All-time biggest jackpots

Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
3. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
4. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
5. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
6. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
7. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
9. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey
10. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California

And here’s the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
6. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
7. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
8. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $558.1 million, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California