Ted Turner, the broadcasting pioneer who founded CNN and helped remake television news, has died at 87.
CNN Worldwide CEO Mark Thompson remembered Turner as a deeply engaged, fearless leader who trusted his instincts and shaped the network’s identity — a giant on whose shoulders the organization stands.
At the time of his death Turner’s net worth was estimated at about $2.2 billion by Celebrity Net Worth. Over his life he owned professional sports teams, raced yachts — including defending the America’s Cup in 1977 — and made major philanthropic gifts, most notably a $1 billion donation to United Nations causes.
Turner was married three times, most famously to actress Jane Fonda. He is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
His media career began at 24 when he took over his father’s billboard company, Turner Outdoor Advertising, after his father’s suicide. He expanded into radio and television and bought an ailing Atlanta station, Channel 17, in 1970. That station evolved into the flagship of Turner Broadcasting System, whose earnings he used to launch CNN in 1980 as the nation’s first 24-hour, all-news cable network.
CNN’s global profile was cemented during the 1991 Gulf War, when Turner kept the network on the air from Baghdad while many other outlets left. He later said he had to act fast and take bold risks to give viewers immediate access to unfolding events; Time magazine named him 1991’s Man of the Year for making audiences in 150 countries “instant witnesses of history.”
In 1996 Turner sold Turner Broadcasting System, including CNN, to Time Warner for $7.3 billion. He later said the sale was a mistake because it cost him control of the company.
Turner remained a prominent philanthropist, creating the United Nations Foundation in 1998 and endowing it with $1 billion to support international cooperation and U.S. engagement. In September 2018 he disclosed he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder that affects memory and cognition.