Man said to be the oldest person in the world dies ‘aged 125’ – with official record held by 116-year-old British woman
While a man said to be the oldest person in the world died at the age of 125, it was reported that a 116-year-old British woman broke the official record.
Marcelino Abad Tolentino, from a remote village in Peru, sadly passed away in his sleep in a nursing home on Monday, just five days shy of his 126th birthday.
The farmer, known as Mashico, was born in 1900, making him the oldest man in his country and possibly the oldest person in the world.
However, due to the lack of necessary documentation, it was never officially recognized with this title by Guinness World Records.
The official record holder is Ethel Caterham of Lightwater, Surrey, born in 1909, aged 116 years and 222 days.
He is also the oldest British person in recorded history and the last surviving person born in the 1900s.
Raised as an orphan, Mr. Tolentino lived in his isolated rural hometown all his life.
He lived in extreme poverty for much of that time, tilling his land by hand and trading agricultural products with other villagers.
Marcelino Abad Tolentino (pictured), from a remote village in Peru, sadly passed away in his sleep in a nursing home on Monday, five days shy of his 126th birthday.
The farmer known as Mashico (pictured) was born in 1900, making him the oldest man in his country and possibly the oldest person in the world.
However, due to the lack of necessary documentation, it was never officially recognized with this title by Guinness World Records. The official record holder is Ethel Caterham of Lightwater, Surrey (pictured), born 1909, aged 116 years and 222 days.
The farmer, who never had a family, lived alone, without electricity or running water and using only a small kerosene lamp for lighting.
Incredibly, Mr Tolentino was completely unknown to the authorities until the Covid-19 outbreak.
He was discovered when he started receiving support from the country’s 65 Pensions program, which is for those over 65 and living in poverty without a pension.
The program saw him receive his first ID card and the state pension he needed to move into a care home.
Shortly after, the centenarian was involved in an accident that resulted in a serious hip injury and left him confined to a wheelchair.
In recent years he has become a nationally known figure for his incredible longevity.
Two years ago, the Peruvian government began the process of registering him in the Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest man.
However, the authorities said that unfortunately the process could not be completed because he could not show the necessary documents regarding his birth.
The oldest man to ever live was Venezuelan Juan Vicente Perez Mora, who died in April 2024 at the age of 114 and 311 days.
The oldest man alive today is Brazilian Joao Marinho Neto, who is 113 years old.
In August last year he sent a congratulatory message to Mrs Caterham on her 116th birthday, as Caterham was the first person in British history to reach that age.
This was reportedly the first documented exchange between the world’s oldest verified woman and its oldest verified man.
