WASHINGTON — The Powerball payout has swollen to a whopping $700 million jackpot, gifting whoever wins with a net worth equal to Bono’s.
Here are Wednesday night’s results:
The #Powerball Results for Wednesday 23rd August- 6, 7, 16, 23, 26. Powerball- 4. Powerplay 4x
— Powerball USA (@PowerballUSA) August 24, 2017
This jackpot is the second largest in U.S. history. Although the $700 million prize is making all of the headlines, that number actually refers to the annuity option, which is doled out in installments over 30 years and significantly less popular than the lump sum option.
The immediate cash prize for this Powerball is a mere pocket-change total of $443.3 million.
If no one wins, the next jackpot is estimated to be $1 billion.
Even though that sounds a lot less impressive than $700 million, the $400 million lump sum would make you instantly richer than some seriously A-list celebrities. That includes Celine Dion, whose net worth is estimated to be $400 million. You’d also be richer than Justin Bieber whose net worth is approximately $265 million, and Beyoncé, whose net worth comes in at $350 million.
Other names of note who would be in a lower tax bracket than you would be Judge Judy ($300 million), Taylor Swift ($280 million), Kanye West ($145 million) and Drake ($90 million.)
You may want to hold off on promising them loans, however. In addition to state and local taxes, which vary widely, the federal government takes a 25 percent bite of the winnings — 30 percent if the winner is foreign.
And the odds of winning this Powerball are one in 292.2 million, according to CBS. Somebody has to win, but it probably won’t be you.
Forbes compiled a list of things that are more likely to happen than your winning the Powerball, and the numbers are grim.
You have a one in 20 million chance of becoming a saint or dying from a dog bite. If politics are more your thing, you have a one in 10 million chance of becoming a president.
Death from scalding hot tap water ranks at one in 5 million.
On a more positive note, your chances for winning an Oscar are one in 11,500 and your chances for penning a best-seller are one in 220.
Even if you don’t win the Powerball jackpot, there’s still a chance to win something. The odds for winning partial prizes are better, and the payoffs range from millions of dollars to $4.
