Ted Turner, CNN founder and media mogul, dies at 87

Ted Turner, the maverick media mogul who founded CNN Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. ↗ 0.89% and transformed the landscape of American television, died Wednesday at age 87, according to Turner Enterprises. Turner, who had been living with Lewy body dementia since 2018, died at his home near Tallahassee, Florida.wikipedia+3

A Media Empire Built on Audacity

Born Robert Edward Turner III on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Turner took control of his father's billboard advertising company in 1963 after his father's death. He parlayed that modest inheritance into one of the most expansive media empires in American history, acquiring an Atlanta UHF television station in 1970 that would become the foundation of Turner Broadcasting System.britannica+2

Turner's boldest gamble came on June 1, 1980, when he launched CNN, the world's first 24-hour cable news network. Industry skeptics dismissed the venture, but Turner pressed forward with characteristic bravado, declaring at CNN's launch, "Barring satellite problems, we won't be signing off until the world ends". The network went on to redefine how the world consumed news, cementing its place in media history with live coverage of events from the Gulf War to the fall of the Berlin Wall.cnn+2

Beyond CNN, Turner built a portfolio of cable channels including TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, and Turner Classic Movies. He owned the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks, and in 1996, he merged Turner Broadcasting with Time Warner in a deal valued at $7.5 billion.biography+1

Philanthropy and Conservation

Turner's ambitions extended well beyond the boardroom. In September 1997, he stunned an audience at a United Nations Association gala by announcing a $1 billion pledge to support the UN, creating the United Nations Foundation. He became one of the largest private landholders in North America, amassing some two million acres dedicated to conservation and the restoration of native wildlife, including bison.cnn+3

CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson called Turner "the presiding spirit of CNN" and "the giant on whose shoulders we stand". Turner disclosed his Lewy body dementia diagnosis in a 2018 CBS interview, saying the condition left him feeling "tired, exhausted". He was hospitalized with pneumonia in January 2025 but recovered at a rehabilitation facility.thelist+4

Turner is survived by five children. He was married three times, including to actress Jane Fonda from 1991 to 2001.biography