Everybody wants to win the lottery – despite the historical risks involved – but a $758.7 million jackpot is enough to get even the most hardened realists' attention. Add to that the fact that this was a single ticket jackpot, the largest in US history, meaning the winner wouldn't have to share his or her winnings with anybody else, and you've got the stuff lotto dreams are made of. Early Thursday morning, it was reported that some lucky individual in Massachusetts had indeed purchased the winning ticket, and a few hours later The Boston Globe and other media outlets were reporting the winner's name: Mavis L. Wanczyk.
Wanczyk is a 53-year-old mother of two adult children, who has been employed for 32 years at Mercy Medical Center, a career that has now come to an abrupt end thanks to her becoming $336,350,655 richer – and that's after taxes. "I've called them and told them I will not be coming back," she told reporters. She only found out she had the winning ticket from a coworker, before which she had not been keeping track of the winning numbers – numbers she selected based on her birthday and the birthdays of loved ones, as well as what she told reporters was her lucky Keno number: 4. I imagine now that 4 will be her lucky Powerball number, although I guess she's more likely to keep playing Keno than buying lottery tickets.
William Thomas Cain/Getty Images
That $336 million is taken out of a lump sum $480 million, which Wanczyk opted to take instead of the full jackpot in installments. Her new wealth makers her instantly richer than a surprising list of top tier celebrities, including Kanye West ($145 million), Kim Kardashian ($175 million), Katy Perry ($280 million), Johnny Depp ($200 million), Tom Brady ($100 million), and Leonardo DiCaprio ($245 million). She's also in the top .01 percent of the wealthiest individuals in the world, reportedly richer than many small countries. And, she probably won't have to deal with any paparazzi.
