--- title: Powerball Jackpot Inspires 2016 Presidential Candidates description: Even some presidential candidates can't resist the allure of the record-breaking $1.5 billion jackpot in Wednesday's Powerball drawing canonical: https://time.com/4179015/powerball-jackpot-drawing-presidential-election/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-13T17:31:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:40:43.226Z article:section: Politics og:title: How the 2016 Candidates Would Spend the Powerball Jackpot og:description: The promise of big bucks hits the campaign trail og:url: https://time.com/4179015/powerball-jackpot-drawing-presidential-election/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8981f3f38457e180/698878f5524fc03cc3df647c/hillary-clinton6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3363 og:image:height: 1892 og:image:alt: Hillary Clinton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How the 2016 Candidates Would Spend the Powerball Jackpot twitter:description: The promise of big bucks hits the campaign trail twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8981f3f38457e180/698878f5524fc03cc3df647c/hillary-clinton6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How the 2016 Candidates Would Spend the Powerball Jackpot > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=78be786e-0e93-4412-88ea-d5fcd0d42036&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Powerball Jackpot Just Keeps Getting Bigger [Watch (HLS stream): The Powerball Jackpot Just Keeps Getting Bigger](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kAw4QkRv.m3u8) (0:40)  _Published 2016-01-08. The Powerball jackpot is still growing. But is it worth it to play?_  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 13, 2016 5:31 PM UTC  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 13, 2016 5:31 PM UTC Even some of the candidates running for President of the United States can’t resist the allure of the [record-breaking $1.5 billion jackpot](http://time.com/4177143/powerball-jackpot-increase-billion/) in Wednesday night’s [highly anticipated Powerball drawing](http://time.com/4169112/powerball-lottery-winner/). Hillary Clinton [told _Good Morning America_](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-spend-powerball-money-fund-campaign/story?id=36264420) on Wednesday that she bought a Powerball ticket. What if she wins? “Well, I’ll fund my campaign,” she said. The jackpot is more than 13 times the [$112 million that Clinton’s campaign raised](http://time.com/4165391/hillary-clinton-campaign-fundraising/) in 2015. A supporter gave Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush a [campaign contribution in the form of a Powerball ticket](http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/09/politics/jeb-bush-powerball-donald-trump/) as the former Florida governor left a rally on Saturday, according to CNN. “I just want to make sure you realize this is not for me personally,” Bush said. “If we win, I’m sure it will be a \[Federal Election Commission\] violation, but it’s all going to a really good cause.” Bush was surely referring to the fact that the donation of a winning Powerball ticket would violate, by far, the cap on individual contributions to campaigns. It’s also possible that a lottery win, [unlikely as it may be](http://time.com/4171474/powerball-lottery-more-likely-win/), could have the effect of turning someone into a presidential candidate. In an [interview with the _Today_ show](http://www.today.com/news/joe-biden-it-s-possible-donald-trump-could-be-next-t66536) on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden—who [announced in October](http://time.com/4086304/joe-biden-presidential-run-decision/) that he would not run for president but has [said he regrets the decision](http://time.com/4170922/joe-biden-regrets-not-running-president/)—was asked if he could think of a scenario that would draw him into the 2016 race. “I’ve learned never to say no, but I can’t imagine one,” Biden said. “If I win the lottery maybe,” he added, before clarifying that it was a joke. He said he hasn’t bought a ticket. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] The Powerball jackpot has reached a record breaking 800 million dollars. And as the jackpot grows, some casual lottery players are wondering if it's time to hop on the bandwagon. An estimate made before the 800 million dollar mark. So the jackpot would need to be about 1. 7 billion dollars in order for the cost of a ticket to be mathematically advantageous. Now it's not impossible for the jackpot to get that high and the calculation might ease the minds of the conservative players out there who haven't snagged a ticket yet. The powerball jackpot surged to $ 500 million dollars Wednesday and shot up by $ 300 million more in the past two days. 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