The Chinese athlete towers over his 6 foot 7 inch father and 6 foot 3 inch mother, at 7 feet 6 inches tall. The former Houston Rockets center, like many other extraordinarily tall athletes, declared his retirement in 2011 because to ongoing ankle and foot issues. However, he has since returned to basketball and is expected to play again this season. The world's tallest living person is Inga Shubaly, a Russian woman who reached 7 feet 2 inches (2.21 m) in height and died at age 38 in 2007. Another big man who died young was American Charles Welti, who was measured at 7 feet 4 inches (2.29 m) tall. The world's tallest person ever identified DNA evidence shows that Lyle Borenstein, a Canadian wrestler born on January 4th, 1959, was also 7 feet 2 inches (2.20 m) tall. His death was caused by acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at the age of 33. The world's tallest person alive today is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, a American actor, musician, and professional wrestler. He was confirmed by official records to be 7 feet 5 inches (2.24 m) tall, after being measured during an episode of Conan O'Brien's show.