Ted Turner, the visionary who launched CNN and revolutionized television news, died Wednesday at 87, surrounded by his family, according to Turner Enterprises. The Ohio-born Atlanta businessman, nicknamed “The Mouth of the South,” built a media empire that included cable’s first superstation, popular channels like TNT and Cartoon Network, and the Atlanta Braves. He was also a yachtsman, philanthropist (founding the UN Foundation), nuclear disarmament activist, conservationist, and one of the largest U.S. landowners, helping reintroduce bison to the American West and creating the Captain Planet cartoon.
But his 24-hour news network made him famous. In 1991, Time named him Man of the Year for “influencing the dynamic of events and turning viewers in 150 countries into instant witnesses of history.” Turner sold his networks to Time Warner and later left the business, calling CNN his “greatest achievement.” CNN CEO Mark Thompson said, “Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand.” In 2018, Turner disclosed he had Lewy body dementia. He was hospitalized with pneumonia in early 2025. He is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Turner took over his father’s billboard company at 24 after his father’s suicide. He bought radio stations, then a struggling Atlanta TV station (Channel 17) in 1970, airing old shows and Braves baseball. In 1976, he beamed its signal via satellite, creating cable’s first superstation. He bought the Braves and Hawks, then set his sights on a 24-hour news channel, believing Americans were ill-informed. Despite critics, on June 1, 1980, CNN launched – the first 24-hour news network. He added CNN2 (later HLN), CNN International, TNT, TCM, and Cartoon Network. Early technical issues drew mockery (“Chicken Noodle News”), but the 1990 Gulf War, broadcast live only on CNN, proved its importance. Turner sold to Time Warner for $7.5 billion in 1996, staying as vice-chairman.
Turner’s early life was marked by tragedy. Born in 1938, he was sent to boarding school at four, had a difficult relationship with his alcoholic father (who disciplined him harshly), and lost his sister to lupus at 17. He attended Brown University but his father cut off tuition for majoring in Classics, calling him a “jackass.” Turner dropped out and worked for his father’s billboard company. In 1963, his father shot himself, leaving Turner a $1 million business.
At his peak, Turner dated Jane Fonda in 1989; they married in 1991. Friend Jimmy Carter recalled they initially disliked each other but evolved into a “nicest romance.” They split after 10 years; Fonda said she couldn’t keep moving in his world. Turner was devastated. Around the same time, AOL’s merger with Time Warner became a $99 billion disaster, and Turner resigned as vice-chairman in 2003. He lost control of his networks, the Braves, and most of his fortune (“Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize,” he told CNN in 2012). He said he was “brokenhearted” over Fonda, but they remained close friends.
Turner’s philanthropy grew after he pledged $1 billion to the UN in 1997 (final payment in 2015). He became North America’s second-largest landowner with 2 million acres, opened Ted’s Montana Grill restaurants, and built the world’s largest private bison herd (~51,000). His five children serve on the Turner Foundation board. Reflecting on his father’s suicide, Turner often said his father ran out of goals, so Turner drove relentlessly forward. Fonda once cried hearing about his childhood; she said, “Given his childhood, he should’ve become a dictator… The miracle is that he became what he is… He’ll get into heaven. He’s a miracle.”