Claim Jeffrey Epstein Won $85 Million Powerball Resurfaces, Grok Stumped
Posted on: March 23, 2026, 01:29h.
Last updated on: March 23, 2026, 01:29h.
- Did some of Jeffrey Epstein’s unimaginable wealth come from playing the lottery?
- Epstein is rumored to have won an $85 million Powerball in July 2008
- It’s unlikely he did, though the rumor lives on
A social media post that’s gone viral claims Jeffrey Epstein allegedly won an $85 million Powerball jackpot in 2008. X’s Grok initially suggested the rumor is at least partly true.
On Sunday, an X account with almost 400K followers resurfaced an old rumor that Epstein won the Powerball on July 2, 2008. The winning numbers that day were 4, 33, 46, 48, 52, and the red Powerball was 17.
The jackpot was worth $85 million, with the one-time cash option at $41.3 million. The winning ticket was sold in Oklahoma.
The X account that raised the question on Sunday prompted Grok to review the claims.
Confirmed: Yes, the Zorro Trust claimed the $85M Powerball jackpot (lump-sum payout ~$29.3M after taxes) from the July 2, 2008, draw, ticket sold in Altus, OK. It matches the name of Epstein’s trust tied to his Zorro Ranch in New Mexico. Recent DOJ Epstein files state ‘Zorro Trust (belonging to Epstein)’ won it. Lottery officials: standard process followed, anonymity legal, no fraud proven,” the social media platform’s AI assistant answered.
The X post regarding the alleged win was viewed 5.2 million times in less than 24 hours.
Lottery Claims Stump Grok
Powerball officials confirmed that the July 2008 jackpot was paid to the Zorro Trust, a legal entity linked to Epstein’s sprawling estate in New Mexico. Oklahoma Lottery rules allow major winners to remain anonymous through the establishment of trusts.
Brice Gordon, Epstein’s longtime ranch manager, was reportedly the trustee of the trust and signed for the Powerball payout, though the claim is unconfirmed. Casino.org searched entities and registered agents on the Oklahoma Secretary of State website and did not find any organization represented by Gordon. The search also did not turn up a Zorro Trust.
A subsequent Grok prompt asking how many times Epstein won the lottery returned a conflicting answer.
Zero. No evidence Jeffrey Epstein ever won a lottery. The 2008 Oklahoma Powerball ($85M jackpot, July 2 draw) was claimed by a Zorro Trust for anonymity, but local reporting from The Oklahoman identified the winner as a grocery store worker in Altus (across from the ticket seller) who set up her trust that way. Epstein had a separate Zorro entity for his NM ranch; same name was pure coincidence. Recent file mentions are unverified notes, not proof. No wins on record.”
It would certainly be odd for Epstein to have played the lottery in Oklahoma. His Zorro Ranch in Stanley, NM, was more than 400 miles from Altus. New Mexico has also been a Powerball participant since 1996.
Epstein Files
The Epstein lottery win claim was resurfaced after an Epstein Files dump unearthed an email from an investigative journalist focused on human trafficking. The email, to retracted recipients, detailed Epstein’s alleged Powerball win.
“Some interesting facts that should be passed on to the investigative agent on the Epstein case. I will also copy Dir. Mueller,” she wrote.
“1. Zorro Trust (belonging to Epstein) won an $80 million lottery ticket in NMexico,” the journalist erroneously reported. “2. Zorro Ranch, belonging to Epstein, sits close to US Mexican border, where most trafficked children are routed prior to being dispersed to the East Coast.”
Stanley is over 200 miles north of the US-Mexico border.
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