Ted Turner, CNN Founder, Has Died at 87 — Inside His Bold Legacy

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News (1 / 1) 06.05.2026 14:57 / Torben

Ted Turner, the trailblazing media entrepreneur behind CNN and the superstation idea, has died. From audacious business moves to passionate environmental work and a complicated private life, his story invites a closer look. Read on to discover the full story!

Media empire and risk-taking

Born Nov. 19, 1938 in Cincinnati and raised from age nine in Savannah, Turner took over his family advertising company after his father’s death in 1963. He entered television in 1970 by buying an Atlanta UHF station, created the "superstation" in 1975, purchased the Atlanta Braves in 1976 to air their games, and launched CNN in 1980. He sold Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner in 1996 for $7.3 billion in stock and remained vice chairman until 2003, leaving the board in 2006.

Philanthropy and passions

Turner founded the Turner Foundation in 1990 and helped launch Captain Planet the same year to promote youth environmentalism. He pledged $1 billion to the United Nations in 1997 and created the United Nations Foundation in 1998, later founding the Nuclear Threat Initiative in 2001. A yachtsman who won the 1977 America’s Cup with Courageous, he entered the Cup Hall of Fame in 1993. Reports cite him as one of the largest private landowners in the U.S., with over two million acres and tens of thousands of bison.