#1
After much intrigue, the largest Powerball jackpot so far this year in the United States was won this week. A player in Illinois won a jaw-dropping $1.04 billion. ABC News reports that the winning numbers were: 4, 26, 66, 67, 69, and red Powerball 9. This is the eighth-largest Powerball jackpot.
The winner of this week’s jackpot can choose to take a lump cash payment of ‘just’ $450.5 million or to have the annuitized prize paid out over 29 years. All sums are pre-tax.
The biggest US lottery prize ever was the Powerball jackpot won on Christmas Eve 2025, clocking in at a stunning $1.8 billion.
#2
Realizing the genius gag potential, he bought smooth Mexican beach pebbles for pennies. The real genius, however, was the presentation: he packaged each rock in a cardboard pet carrier complete with breathing holes, nestled in straw, and included a hilarious 32-page "Pet Rock Training Manual" full of puns on teaching it to "sit" and "stay."
Priced at $3.95, the novelty item became a massive Christmas fad, selling over 1.5 million units in just six months. The absurd venture netted Dahl roughly $5 million (around $28 million today), making him an instant millionaire overnight.
#3
Curious about its origin, they eventually consulted art experts and received the shock of a lifetime: the piece was an ultra-rare, 1,000-year-old "Ding ware" bowl from China's Northern Song Dynasty. Celebrated for its delicate ceramic walls and intricate carving, the only other known bowl of its exact size and design belonged to the British Museum.
In March 2013, the family put the piece up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York. Estimated to sell for around $200,000, an intense four-way bidding war drove the final price to a staggering $2.225 million—turning a $3 garage sale impulse buy into a life-changing fortune.
CNN reports that the odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are roughly 1 in 292.2 million.
“For perspective, a person has a better chance of being struck by lightning in a given year — a 1 in 1.22 million chance.” Meanwhile, your odds of losing your life in a shark attack throughout your life are 1 in 4.3 million.
“The size of this jackpot is no anomaly. Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots have grown larger over the past several years, driven by game redesigns that lengthened the odds of winning, more frequent drawings and an expanded player pool.”
States like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee don’t tax lottery winnings. Most Powerball and other lottery winners choose lump sums over annuity payments.
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#5
The feline's permanent scowl—caused by feline dwarfism and an underbite—became an instant viral meme. Recognizing the commercial potential, Bundesen quit her waitressing job within days and hired a meme manager to monetize the brand.
Through Grumpy Cat Limited, they aggressively trademarked her image. Revenue poured in from best-selling books, plush toys, apparel, calendars, a Christmas movie (Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever), brand endorsements like Friskies, and even a $710,000 copyright lawsuit win against a coffee company.
Before the cat's passing in 2019, the empire generated an estimated $10 million to $100 million, turning a viral pet photo into a massive multi-million-dollar fortune.
#6
He had won a bit over $1 million. He soon sold his shop and retired, which was too bad because he was the best, most honest mechanic you could hope for. Congratulations Gene of Gene's Automotive!
As enjoyable as it is to think about becoming ultra-wealthy, riches come with huge problems. If you do not practice stealth wealth and flaunt your huge piles of cash, you’ll quickly regret it.
Scammers, fake friends, desperate relatives, and envious coworkers might all decide that you don’t ‘deserve’ your success, and that you should spread your wealth around. For example, you might find yourself the victim of frivolous lawsuits. Or someone might turn violent to force you to part with your wealth.
#7
Curious, he searched the internet and realized Madge had sniffed out ambergris—a rare, highly prized substance produced in whale digestive systems. Often called "floating gold," high-end perfumers use ambergris as a fixative to help scents last longer on the skin.
Wilman rushed back to retrieve the 6-pound chunk. Shortly after, buyers offered him nearly $70,000 (£50,000) for the rare find. Wilman’s advice for fellow dog walkers was clear: "If your dog pays interest in something, YOU pay interest in something."
#8
For years, Roth received no monetary compensation for her viral fame. That changed in April 2021, when the then 21-year-old college student decided to turn the original image file into a Non-Fungible Token (NFT).
Roth put the token up for auction and sold it for 180 Ethereum, worth nearly $500,000 at the time. Additionally, the smart contract retains copyright and grants her a 10% royalty on all future resales of the NFT. Roth used the sudden windfall to pay off her student loans and donate to charitable causes.
#9
That’s on top of all the stress you feel now that you have your riches to protect and invest. Suddenly, you have so much to lose. Meanwhile, if you’re not careful and don’t plan ahead, you might find that you’ve wasted your fortune on a few months or years of parties, superficial assets, bad investments, and power-hungry socialites.
Once your bank account dries up, you quickly realize how many people in your social circle were near you just because you were rich. Meanwhile, true friends are rare: they stick with you no matter the ups and downs, and they’ll never try to manipulate you for gifts and favors.
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#12
He realized there was an untapped market for the stuff, for things like movie/theatre sets, decoration, etc. so he started a business of picking up tumbleweed of which there is no shortage, boxing it up, and shipping it out with a hefty margin.
Do you know anyone who has gotten rich, whether due to incredibly good luck, investments, inheritances, entrepreneurial decisions, or something else?
What’s the coolest or most unusual thing you’ve ever won?
From your personal perspective, how much money is genuinely enough for you to fully enjoy life? Would you quit your job if you won the lottery?
Tell us all about it in the comments. Oh, and we genuinely hope you’re happy, whether or not you’re ultra-wealthy.
#13
Neat dude.
#14
He loved online gaming.
He got really into flight simulators.
He was the #1 user of some helicopter flight simulator.
He started emailing the company that created it.
Turns out, it was Bell Helicopter.
He got invited to tour the facility in DFW.
After the tour, they offered him a great job.
So, he moved to Texas and bought a big house. Never had to work as a plumber again. So not rich, but he definitely came up.
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#16
When he tried to detach the painting at home, the frame fell apart—revealing a folded document tucked behind the canvas. It was an original Dunlap Broadside, one of only 200 copies printed on the night of July 4, 1776, to announce America’s independence from Britain. At the time, only 24 other copies were known to exist.
The buyer had unwittingly discovered one of the rarest historical artifacts in American history. In 1991, the broadside was auctioned for $2.42 million that he pocketed.
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Under the UK’s Treasure Act 1996, declared treasure belongs to the Crown, but the finder and landowner receive a tax-free reward equal to the full market valuation set by independent experts.
The hoard was valued at £3.285 million (over $5 million at the time). Museum public fundraising campaigns raised the entire sum to acquire the collection for local heritage displays. Herbert and Johnson split the payout equally, each receiving roughly £1.64 million ($2.6 million)—a life-changing reward for a chance metal-detecting discovery.
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