Saudi Arabia’s "oldest man" has reportedly di£d at the age of 142, leaving behind 134 children and grandchildren.
Nasser bin Radan Al Rashid Al Wadaei passed away on January 8 in Riyadh, according to local reports.
Funeral prayers were held in Dhahran Al Janoub, where more than 7,000 people attended, before he was buried in his home village of Al Rashid.
According to Saudi media, Al Wadaei was born in 1884. He is believed to have lived through multiple monarchs and eras from the founding leader King Abdulaziz to King Salman.
His family said that he performed the Hajj pilgrimage more than 40 times and was greatly devoted to his religion
He is reportedly survived by 134 children and grandchildren.
At the age of 110, Al Wadaei married for the last time and later had a daughter.
Due to Saudi Arabia having an average life expectancy of roughly 78, there have been some questions surrounding if their "oldest man" could really be 142 years old.
Chair of the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA), Professor David Weinkove, told Metro: "It seems very unlikely that this person [Al Wadaei] was really 142 years old.
"No one can really know for certain because in a lot of parts of the world, they don’t have good records going back that far."
Prof Weinkove explained that one of the fundamentals of ageing is that the older you are, the faster you age.
He said: "So when you get to around 100, your chance of making it to the next year, to 101, is roughly 50%, so it’s like tossing a coin.
"It’s not impossible because there’s always a chance, but it’s like tossing a coin 40 times in a row and always landing on heads."
Currently, Saudi Arabia is experiencing significant population ageing, with the older adult demographic expected to grow rapidly as the birth rate drops.
Prof Weinkove said: "So it’s possible that someone could be very long-lived in Saudi Arabia.
“But 142, I think, is a little bit too much to be believable.”
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