The World’s Oldest Man Has Passed Away

EL COBRE, VANU - The oldest living man in the world has died just weeks before he would have turned 115, Guinness World Records reports. 

The man's name was Juan Vicente Pérez Mora. 

The governor of Táchira, Venezuela, where Juan Vicente resided, confirmed his death in a statement posted on X.

"Our dear Juan Vicente Pérez Mora, with profound sadness and pain, we say goodbye to you today, to that archetype of a Tachiran man, humble, hard-working, peaceful, enthusiastic about family and tradition," Freddy Bernal stated.

Born on May 27, 1909, Juan Vicente was named the oldest living man on Feb. 4, 2022. At the time, he was 112 years and 253 days old. 

He was also Venezuela's first ever fully authenticated supercentenarian man, someone who lives to the age of 110. 

According to Guinness World Records, he attributed his long life to "working hard, resting on holidays, going to bed early, drinking a glass of aguardiente every day, loving God, and always carrying him in his heart."  

Juan Vicente married Ediofina del Rosario Garcia for 60 years until she died in 1997. The couple had 11 children, 42 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren. 

"Not only was Sr Perez Mora his country’s oldest citizen and the first South American recognized by GWR as the oldest living man, he is now history’s fourth oldest male whose age has been officially ratified," Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief said in a statement. "How remarkable to think that we’ve just said goodbye to a man born before Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel!" 

Guinness World Records said the next person to be named the world's oldest living man is expected to be 112-year-old Gisaburo Sonobe of Japan. 

The world's oldest living person is Maria Branyas Morera, who turned 117 in March. She was born in 1907 in San Francisco, California, but moved to Spain in 1915 with her family.