Ted Turner, the pioneering media entrepreneur who transformed television news by launching CNN and building one of the most influential cable empires in history, has died at the age of 87.
Turner Enterprises confirmed Turner’s death on Wednesday following his long battle with Lewy body dementia, the degenerative neurological disease he publicly revealed in 2018.
CNN Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson called Turner “the presiding spirit of CNN” in a statement released Wednesday. “Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless, and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgment,” Thompson said. “Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand.”
Born Robert Edward Turner III in Cincinnati, Ohio, Turner took over his father’s billboard company, Turner Advertising, in 1963 after his father’s death. He expanded the business into television after acquiring Atlanta UHF station WTCG in 1970, eventually transforming it into the nationwide “superstation” TBS through satellite distribution.
In 1980, Turner forever changed media by launching CNN, the world’s first 24-hour cable news network. The once risky venture became a global news powerhouse and helped redefine how audiences consumed breaking news around the clock.
Turner later expanded his empire with channels including TNT, Cartoon Network, CNN International and Turner Classic Movies before selling Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner in a landmark 1996 deal valued at $7.3 billion in stock.
Beyond television, Turner became known for his outspoken personality, environmental activism and philanthropy. In 1997, he pledged $1 billion to the United Nations, one of the largest charitable donations ever made at the time, leading to the creation of the United Nations Foundation.
Turner was also an avid sportsman who owned the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks and won the America’s Cup sailing competition in 1977 aboard his yacht Courageous.
His personal life frequently made headlines as well, including his high-profile marriage to Jane Fonda from 1991 to 2001. Turner revealed his Lewy body dementia diagnosis during a 2018 interview with CBS Sunday Morning, candidly discussing the disease’s impact on his memory and health.
He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Rest in Power, Mr. Turner.
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