06/05/2026
Swimming good for her! Proud of her
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1413935624114425&id=100064940010171&post_id=100064940010171_1413935624114425&sfnsn=mo&mibextid=VhDh1V
In 1965, a 47-year-old notary in Arles, France, named André-François Raffray spotted what he believed was the deal of a lifetime.
A local widow named Jeanne Calment lived alone in a beautiful apartment in the south of France. She was 90 years old. Her husband, daughter, and grandson had all died before her. She had no heirs.
France has a property tradition called "en viager," which means "for life." A buyer agrees to pay an elderly seller a monthly stipend until they die, at which point the buyer inherits the property. It's normally a great deal for both parties. The seller gets monthly income. The buyer gets a discounted home.
Raffray ran the numbers. He offered Jeanne 2,500 francs a month until her death. She accepted. He congratulated himself.
What he didn't know was that Jeanne Calment was about to become the oldest verified human in history.
She smoked a cigarette a day until she was 117. She ate two and a half pounds of chocolate every week. She took up fencing at 88. She rode her bicycle until she was 100. She lived alone in the apartment until she was 110.
On Christmas Day 1995, Raffray died of cancer at age 77. He had paid more than double the apartment's value over 30 years. He never spent one night in it.
His widow was legally required to keep paying. She did, for two more years, until Jeanne Calment finally died in August 1997.
She was 122. Her response: "In life, one sometimes makes bad deals" 💀
