Guiness World Records hails Yisrael Kristal as the world's oldest living man
He is 112 years and 178 days old at the time of awarding.
Proving that the will to live can overcome even the toughest challenges in life, Yisrael Kristal was recently recognised as the world's oldest man.
Recently awarded by the Guinness World Records, Kristal was recognized as the world's oldest living man at 112 years and 178 days old.
The man of Israeli descent has gone through numerous notable events in his life and witnessed some of the biggest events in the history of mankind. Kristal has lived through both World Wars and even survived Auschcwitz.
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Kristal was born on September 15, 1903 in Poland, near the town of Zarnow.
He is considered a very religious man, and is known for his profession as a confectioner.
As a child, he went through World War I and experienced World War II as an adult. His third biggest challenge in life was surviving the Holocaust. After which time he emigrated to Israel, where he settled down and had a son with his second wife, where he lived quietly and continued his confectionary business.
When he was given his certificate as recognition for his age, Kristal said, "I don't know the secret for long life. I believe that everything is determined from above and we shall never know the reasons why.
"There have been smarter, stronger and better looking men than me who are no longer alive. All that is left for us to do is to keep on working as hard as we can and rebuild what is lost."
Before Kristal, Japanese man Yasutaro Koide held the distinction as the oldest man at 112 year and 312 days. He died in January 2016, just two months before his 113th birthday.
Susannah Mushaatt Jones is the oldest living person and oldest living woman at 115 years and 249 days.
Jeanne Calment holds the distinction for being the oldest person to have ever lived at 122 years and 164 days.
