José Flores, 119, May Soon Be the World's Oldest Person

According to his Costa Rican identity card, José Flores was born on July 11, 1907, so he is 119 years old. If specialists accept that date, he may soon be the world’s oldest living person. He would be older than Ethel Caterham, the 117-year-old record holder from Britain. For now, his family is waiting while records are checked.

Flores grew up poor in Guanacaste. His mother left him and his father died when he was seven, so his grandmother raised him. He has eight children, 23 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter. His granddaughter Hellen Flores cares for him. She says, “Without love, without affection, without care, he would not still be here.” His answer is simpler: work hard, trust God, and eat well.

The family is collecting papers such as his birth certificate and a church paper from 1907. They plan to send them to the Gerontology Research Group, which checks the ages of very old people, and then to Guinness World Records. Hellen Flores says recognition would make the family and the country proud.

Sardinal is on the Nicoya Peninsula, one of five Blue Zones, places where people often live longer. But experts say his long life is not just because of the place. He lived outside the area for about 100 years and returned only in 2024, but kept many of its habits. José Antonio Rabadán, a researcher, says no single thing explains such a long life. People in similar conditions sometimes die much younger.