No man alive today has been on Earth longer than Emilio Flores Márquez.
On Wednesday, Guinness World Records confirmed that, at 112 years and 326 days, the Puerto Rican centenarian is the world’s oldest man.
At 118, Kane Tanaka currently holds both the titles of oldest female and oldest person.
Márquez, who is endearingly known as Don Millo to friends and family, says that his trick to a long life is eschewing hate and anger and surrounding oneself with love.
“My father raised me with love, loving everyone. He always told me and my siblings to do good, to share everything with others. Besides, Christ lives in me,” Márquez told Guinness.
Born Aug. 8, 1908 — the eighth day of the eighth month in the eighth year of the 20th century — in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Márquez grew up on a sugarcane farm, the second-oldest of 11. He often helped his father water the sugarcane and load it onto wagons, in addition to household chores and caring for his nine surviving siblings, of whom he was the oldest son.
“I did everything. I scrubbed, I took care of the boys, I did everything,” he said of his childhood.
Eventually, he too became a farmer.
For 75 years, Márquez was married to Andrea Perez, with whom he had four children. He now also has five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, in addition to his two surviving children, who take care of him.
Perez passed away in 2010.
“It’s always an honor to celebrate these remarkable human beings, and this year we’ve processed applications from not one but two contenders for the title of oldest living man,” Guinness World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said. “I am thrilled to feature Sr. Márquez and bring his fascinating story to the wider public. But alongside this, I am also pleased that we got the chance to pay our respects to Dumitru Comănescu, who briefly held the record but sadly passed before we went to press.”