The world’s oldest man, according to Guinness World Records, has died at age 114.
Juan Vicente Pérez was born on May 27, 1909 in Venezuela. His death was announced Tuesday by the governor of Táchira state, where he lived. Pérez would have turned 115 next month.
Governor Freddy Bernal wrote that Pérez was the archetype of a Táchiran man — “humble, hard-working, peaceful, enthusiastic about family and tradition.”
“Our dear Juan Vicente Perez Mora, today with deep sadness and pain we say goodbye to you,” Bernal wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Pérez was officially announced as the world’s oldest living man on February 4, 2022 after the previous record holder, Saturnino de la Fuente Garcia of Spain, died at age 112.
The former town sheriff and farmer attributed his longevity 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,” he told Guinness at the time.
Aguardiente is a kind of distilled spirit that originates on the Iberian peninsula and is popular is South America.
Pérez said he started working at the ripe old age of five years old, when his family moved to a farm in Los Pajuiles, a village in Táchira state. He helped grow and harvest sugar cane and coffee, and even constructed a wooden mill with his brother Miguel to help process the family’s crops.
Despite only going to school for five months when he was 10, Pérez learned how to read and write.
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In 1937, Pérez married Ediofina del Rosario García and the couple stayed together for 60 years until García’s death in 1997. They had 11 children together, six sons and five daughters. Over the decades, his family has grown to welcome 41 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren.
Before being recognized as the oldest man in the world by Guinness World Records, Pérez was celebrated as the first male supercentenarian from Venezuela on his 110th birthday.
During his long life, Pérez saw technology and society change dramatically. He lived through both World Wars, saw the invention of the television and the internet, and survived catching COVID-19 in 2020.
Having been born in 1909, Pérez pre-dates the invention of the modern bra (patented in 1913) and the pop-up toaster (invented in 1919).
When Pérez was announced as the oldest living man in 2022, he told Guinness that he wanted to be remembered as a hard-working man, faithful to his wife and religion.
Upon his passing, Pérez became the fourth-oldest man in history, according to Guinness.
Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, also paid tribute to Pérez, writing on X that he had “transcended into eternity at 114 years old.”
“I send my hug and condolences to his family and to all the people of El Cobre, Tachira state. May God receive him in his holy glory!”
The next Guinness record for oldest living man is expected to be bestowed on 112-year-old Gisaburo Sonobe of Japan. The records organization consults with the Gerontology Research Group and employs a gerontology consultant to help verify old-age claims.
Currently, the oldest living person is Maria Branyas Morera, a Spanish woman who is 117 years old, according to Guinness.
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