The Top 5 Biggest EuroMillions Winners Of All Time

Note: The UK winners listed in this article won the official EuroMillions jackpot. EuroMillions is not available to bet on at Lottoland.

Top Five Record EuroMillions Jackpots

Europe's most popular lottery, without a shadow of a doubt, is EuroMillions. In terms of jackpot size it ecclipses its closest rival EuroJackpot, Europe's other big multi-national lottery, by a considerable measure. As of 2012 the EuroMillions jackpot size has been capped at €190 million though as the lottery continues to thrive further increases to that amount in future cannot be ruled out.  

For now, however, the highest amount won in EuroMillions is €190 million - an amount which has been won, not once, but twice, since the jackpot cap of 2012. In the map below you'll see where the top five EuroMillions jackpots were won, followed by leaderboard table and winner profiles.  

Top 5 EuroMillions Winners
Rank	Date	Prize	Location
1	06/10/2017	€190 Million	Gran Canaria, Spain
2	10/08/2012	€190 Million	Suffolk, UK
3	24/10/2014	€190 Million	Castelo Branco, Portugal
4	25/06/2013	€187.9 Million	Belgium/Ireland (shared)
5	12/07/2011	€185 Million	Scotland, UK

 

Let's discover a little bit more information about the record-breaking EuroMillions winners. As you will see, a lot of the new multi-millionaires chose to keep their identities secret, but the winners from the UK weren't afraid of going public with their stroke of good fortune. 

1. Anonymous Winner From Spain: €190 Million

It was Viva Espana in October 2017, as the maximum jackpot prize was paid out to a Spanish winner and the most recent entry on the list. After rolling over six times, the jackpot was finally claimed by an anonymous winner who bought their ticket on the popular holiday island of Gran Canaria.

With over 3 million tourists descending on the island every year, it is not known whether the lucky winner was a local or a foreign visitor. Either way, the 6th of October 2017 is a date that fortunate ticket-holder is not likely to forget in a hurry. Spain has had a lot of success when it comes to EuroMillions jackpot wins, and this latest one is the pick of the bunch.

2. Adrian and Gillian Bayford, UK: €190 million

As well as being one of the original founders of the lottery the UK also enjoys the distinction of being home to two of the top EuroMillions jackpot winners, including Adrian and Gillian Bayford, the joint-biggest EuroMillions winners so far.

Since UK lottery winnings are tax free the Bayfords, from Haverhill, Suffolk, hold the current record jackpot, the maximum amount winnable since the jackpot was capped at €190 million in 2012.

After their win the couple opted for low-key celebrations but the general public, and the media especially, weren’t having it. Despite the dream win Adrian wanted to keep his old dream alive, the music store he’d started from scratch and built up over the years. Keeping the store open proved to be a nuisance, however, as he was tormented by people walking in off the street begging him for handouts.

While images of the couple celebrating their wins became ubiquitous throughout all the major British news publications, behind closed doors all was not peachy. The couple admitted that their marriage was in difficulty prior to the win and the pressure of adjusting to their newfound wealth only exacerbated the situation. Being the centre of constant media attention probably didn’t help either.

Let's discover a little bit more information about the record-breaking EuroMillions winners. As you will see, a lot of the new multi-millionaires chose to keep their identities secret, but the winners from the UK weren't afraid of going public with their stroke of good fortune. 

1. Anonymous Winner From Spain: €190 Million

It was Viva Espana in October 2017, as the maximum jackpot prize was paid out to a Spanish winner and the most recent entry on the list. After rolling over six times, the jackpot was finally claimed by an anonymous winner who bought their ticket on the popular holiday island of Gran Canaria.

With over 3 million tourists descending on the island every year, it is not known whether the lucky winner was a local or a foreign visitor. Either way, the 6th of October 2017 is a date that fortunate ticket-holder is not likely to forget in a hurry. Spain has had a lot of success when it comes to EuroMillions jackpot wins, and this latest one is the pick of the bunch.

2. Adrian and Gillian Bayford, UK: €190 million

As well as being one of the original founders of the lottery the UK also enjoys the distinction of being home to two of the top EuroMillions jackpot winners, including Adrian and Gillian Bayford, the joint-biggest EuroMillions winners so far.

Since UK lottery winnings are tax free the Bayfords, from Haverhill, Suffolk, hold the current record jackpot, the maximum amount winnable since the jackpot was capped at €190 million in 2012.

After their win the couple opted for low-key celebrations but the general public, and the media especially, weren’t having it. Despite the dream win Adrian wanted to keep his old dream alive, the music store he’d started from scratch and built up over the years. Keeping the store open proved to be a nuisance, however, as he was tormented by people walking in off the street begging him for handouts.

While images of the couple celebrating their wins became ubiquitous throughout all the major British news publications, behind closed doors all was not peachy. The couple admitted that their marriage was in difficulty prior to the win and the pressure of adjusting to their newfound wealth only exacerbated the situation. Being the centre of constant media attention probably didn’t help either.

Let's discover a little bit more information about the record-breaking EuroMillions winners. As you will see, a lot of the new multi-millionaires chose to keep their identities secret, but the winners from the UK weren't afraid of going public with their stroke of good fortune. 

Let's discover a little bit more information about the record-breaking EuroMillions winners. As you will see, a lot of the new multi-millionaires chose to keep their identities secret, but the winners from the UK weren't afraid of going public with their stroke of good fortune. 

3. Anonymous Winner From Portugal: €190 Million

On the 24th of October 2014 a lucky anonymous winner scooped another massive €190 million jackpot which had rolled over six times following a recent Superdraw. The player hailed from Castelo Branco in central Portugal, near the Spanish border.

With sluggish growth and recent figures putting the unemployment rate at 13.4%, Portugal is one of the worst hit countries by the Eurozone crisis. This lucky winner, however, need never worry about financial woes ever again, though he/she probably isn’t too delighted about the taxman taking 20% of the win which would have otherwise left the winner tied for first with the Bayfords. 

4. Anonymous Winners From Belgium And Ireland: €187.9 Million

EuroMillions’ third largest jackpot was split by two winners, one from Limburg in Belgium and one from Dublin, Ireland, earning each of the lucky anonymous winners €93.9 million.

The biggest overall win in Belgium to date is €100 million, claimed by an anonymous winner back in 2007. The largest Irish win so far remains that of Dolores McNamara from Limerick. Her massive €115 million win back in 2005 made her an instant celebrity throughout Europe and the first of many record-breaking EuroMillions winners.

5. Colin and Chris Weir, UK: €185 million

Colin and Chris Weir’s €185 million jackpot win broke the record back in 2011. Although the Bayfords are the biggest EuroMillions winners overall, the declining value in the Euro between 2011 and 2012 meant that, in terms of pounds Sterling, the Weirs remain the UK’s biggest EuroMillions winners with £161,653,000, compared to the Bayford’s £148,656,000.

While the record win turned the Scottish couple into overnight celebrities, it was the manner with which they spent and invested their newfound wealth that would garner the biggest headlines.

The couple established The Weir Trust, a charity organisation, as well as being one of the biggest supporters, financially and otherwise, of the ill-fated Scottish independence referendum. (The Weirs supplied 79% of the campaign funds according to The Guardian). The couple also invested heavily in Partick Thistle Football Club, where their donation allowed the creation of Thistle Weir Academy for young footballers. 

More recently the couple have purchased a huge stately mansion worth £3.5 million. Apparently it took them only a few minutes to decide they wanted to buy it.

Famous Anonymous Winners

Famous and anonymous – sounds like a contradiction in terms, right?

Yet even anonymous winners have been known to make headlines. Often the sheer scale of the win is big news in and of itself. Other times it’s what these lucky winners do with their winnings that catches the public eye. One memorable example was yet another anonymous French winner who, having won €72 million, gave the majority of it – a whopping €50 million – away to charity. The man, who we’re told is in his 50s, gave the money away to various charities working for the betterment of people with disabilities, on condition that the charities informed him precisely as to how the money would be spent.

Of all of Europe’s biggest jackpot winners, both in EuroMillions and EuroJackpot, the majority have opted to remain anonymous. Considering the fate of the Bayfords, harried by strangers looking for handouts and shadowed by the press all throughout their much-publicised breakup, they probably wished they had avoided all the media attention and remained anonymous also.

Fancy Becoming A Multi-Millionaire?

Having read about all these different record jackpot winners who became massive multi-millionaires overnight I wouldn't blame you for wanting a taste of the good life yourself. Or, perhaps, like the Weirs and the anonymous French winners, you also fancy putting much of your winnings to good use and try and make a difference in the world. Although the odds of hitting a big jackpot are slim have a chance by betting one of the many great lotteries at Lottoland.

Updated Feb 2018