Ted Turner, who passed away at the age of 87, was a multifaceted figure in American society, defying easy categorization. His legacy is that of a media mogul, philanthropist, environmentalist, and major landowner, all rolled into one.
Turner’s most notable achievement was founding CNN, cementing his status as one of the most influential figures in media history. Beyond the realm of broadcasting, he made significant environmental contributions and was recognized as one of the country’s foremost philanthropists.
His diverse interests extended into sports and entertainment, where he became an accomplished international yachtsman and owned both baseball and NBA teams. Notably, he was also married to actress Jane Fonda, adding another layer to his multifarious identity.
Turner’s vibrant and audacious personality earned him a variety of nicknames, including ‘The Mouth of the South,’ ‘Captain Outrageous,’ and ‘Terrible Ted,’ each reflecting a different facet of his larger-than-life character.
In his own words, Turner candidly remarked, “If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.” He aspired to achieve unparalleled success, aiming to join the ranks of historical greats such as Alexander the Great, Gandhi, and Churchill.
‘I’m trying to set the all-time record for achievement by one person in one lifetime. And that puts you in pretty big company – Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Gandhi, Christ, Mohammed, Buddha, Washington, Roosevelt, Churchill.’
In September 2018, Turner revealed that he had Lewy body dementia, a degenerative nerve disease. He spent his final years privately, much of it at his 113,000-acre ranch in Montana amid forests and rolling meadows populated by deer, elk, bears and mountain lions.
The future creator of CNN was born Robert Edward Turner III on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
His father, Robert Jr. was from a cotton-growing family in Mississippi, and had headed for Ohio in the Great Depression, wedding Florence Rooney, whose father owned grocery stores.
His father was an alcoholic who beat him with a leather strap and wire coat hanger, which he would later describe as ‘hurting like the devil.’
Father’s Death Left Turner Running Family Business at 24
When Turner was nine his family moved to Savannah, Georgia, and he was sent to a Christian military boarding school. In the summers, he painted billboards for his father’s advertising business.
In 1956, he went to Brown University in Rhode Island but his father was outraged by his decision to study classics, rather than for a business degree.
His father wrote to him: ‘My dear son, I am appalled, even horrified, that you have adopted Classics as a major. I am a practical man, and for the life of me I cannot possibly understand why you should wish to speak Greek. With whom will you communicate in Greek?
‘I think you are rapidly becoming a jackass, and the sooner you get out of that filthy atmosphere, the better it will suit me.’
According to fellow students Turner was a heavy drinker, was caught with a girlfriend in his room, and failed to graduate. He then joined his billboard company, Turner Outdoor Advertising.
In 1963 his father was in debt as he tried to make it into the biggest billboard company in the southern states, and committed [self-murder], shooting himself at the family home in Savannah.
It left Ted Turner in charge at age 24.
The business was initially sold to pay debts, but he then repurchased it.
Turner Made WTBS America’s First ‘Superstation’
In 1970, he bought a failing Atlanta UHF television station, Channel 17, now called WTBS, for $2.5 million.
After a rocky start, Turner eventually made the station profitable with low-cost 24-hour programming.
In 1976, he made WTBS the first ‘superstation’ by beaming its signal to a satellite, allowing its programming to be picked up by local cable systems across the country.
Turner, who always described himself as more of an ‘adventurer’ than businessman, then indulged his passion for sports.
He bought the Atlanta Braves baseball team, and the Atlanta Hawks basketball team. which provided more content for his superstation.
He appointed himself manager of the Braves, leading to a dispute with Major League Baseball, and lost his only game in charge.
Turner also became determined to win the America’s Cup yacht race, and did so in 1977 off Newport, Rhode Island. However, his behavior became notorious.
‘He flirted with every girl in sight, crawled pubs with his crew, got tossed out of chic clubs and restaurants for boozy behavior and turned Newport’s blue bloods positively purple,’ Time magazine reported at the time.
Turner Launched CNN in 1980
Turning his attention back to his business, Turner decided to start the first 24-hour news TV channel.
While many ridiculed the idea, to Turner it seemed common sense.
‘I worked until 7 pm and, when I got home the news was over,’ he once said. ‘So I missed television news completely, and I figured there were lots of people like me.’
He added: ‘If Alexander the Great could conquer the known world, why couldn’t I start CNN?’
Cable News Network – CNN – began broadcasting from Atlanta on June 1, 1980.
Offering low pay but the lure of adventure, Turner signed up journalists and technical crew.
There were a litany of early mishaps which led to the nickname ‘Chicken Noodle Network,’ and it began losing $2 million a month.
Turner later described how he ‘lived on a couch in my office the first 10 years’ and he was sometimes seen in the newsroom in a bathrobe.
CNN’s breakout moment came in with the Gulf War in 1990 when it broadcast the whole thing live.
‘I learn more from CNN than I do from the CIA,’ President George H.W. Bush was quoted as saying.
Turner was named Time magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’ in 1991 and declared a ‘televisionary’ for ‘turning viewers in 150 countries into instant witnesses of history.’
Turner Pledged Much of His Fortune to Charity
Along the way he made numerous controversial remarks, including calling some of his employees ‘Jesus freaks’ because of the Ash Wednesday marks on their foreheads.
He also told a group of Germans that after being on the wrong side of two world wars, they could turn things around just as his losing Braves baseball team had done.
Turner also had an intense rivalry with fellow media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who he once challenged to a fist fight. One of Murdoch’s newspapers asked on its front page if Turner was ‘insane.’
Meanwhile, he made philanthropic history by announcing that he was donating $1 billion to fund United Nations operations. Turner called it ‘the best investment I’ve ever made.’
He signed the Giving Pledge, promising to donate most of his wealth to good causes when he died.
His Turner Foundation also gave millions to environmental groups, while he promoted and invested in clean energy.
Turner became one of the largest private landowners in the United States with more than 1.9 million acres (770,000 hectares) in six states, including Montana, where he spent much of his time.
He owned a herd of some 50,000 bison, which he used to supply a restaurant chain he founded in 2002 called Ted’s Montana Grill.
In 1996 his company Turner Broadcasting System, was bought by Time Warner for $7.5 billion.
Fall From Power After the AOL–Time Warner Merger
Five years later, Time Warner merged with AOL in a $99 billion deal that saw him stripped of his position overseeing the cable networks that he had created.
Ultimately, he lost billions as the value of the company’s stock fell.
In 2003 he quit as vice chairman and three years later stepped down as a Time Warner director.
He battled depression and often spoke of [self-murder], according to his biographer.
The most high profile of his three marriages was to Jane Fonda in 1991. When they met he was already divorced twice with five adult children. The marriage lasted a decade and they remained friends.
Fonda later said: ‘Given his childhood, he should’ve become a dictator. He should’ve become a not nice person. The miracle is that he became what he is. A man who will go to heaven. He’s a miracle.’
Speaking in 2012, Turner said he was ‘brokenhearted.’
‘I lost Jane. I lost my job here. I lost my fortune, most of it,’ he said. ‘Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize.’
In 2018, in the middle of President Donald Trump’s stormy first term, Turner said in an interview that he rarely watched CNN any more, saying that it focused too much on politics.
In early 2025, Turner was hospitalized with a mild case of pneumonia before recovering at a rehabilitation facility.
He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Trump mourns death of Ted Turner
Donald Trump penned a heartfelt post for CNN founder Ted Turner after the billionaire media mogul passed away at 87.
Trump also took shots at the liberal-leaning outlet that he has repeatedly lambasted as ‘fake news’ and gotten into public feuds with its journalists.
‘Ted Turner, one of the Greats of All Time, just died,’ the President wrote on social media Wednesday morning. ‘He founded CNN , sold it, and was personally devastated by the Deal because the new ownership took CNN, his “baby,” and destroyed it. It became woke , and everything that he is not all about.’
Trump wrote that CNN’s ‘new buyers’ may be able to restore its ‘credibility and glory.’ He called Turner one of the Greats of Broadcast History and noted he was a good friend. ‘Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!’
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