CNN founder and nicknamed “Mouth of the South” Ted Turner has died at the age of 87, just eight years after revealing that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.
CNN reported Turner’s passing with a statement shared by his company, Turner Enterprises, stating he was surrounded by family and loved ones when he died.
“On behalf of the Turner family, it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of philanthropist, environmentalist and cable pioneer Ted Turner who died peacefully today at age 87, surrounded by his family,” the statement notes.
The media industrialist was considered a pioneer of modern news, having spent a majority of his career working within the industry since the age of 24, when he took over his father’s billboard company.
A life long rancher
During his later years, Turner, who was previously married to actress Jane Fonda, turned his focus to another great passion: ranches, reportedly buying over 14 properties across the U.S., including a sprawling 113,000-acre ranch located in Montana, where he reportedly spent years leading up to his death.
In 2012, Turner spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his devotion for environmentalism, and how he collected an astonishing portfolio of 28 properties, 14 which were ranches with 55,000 bison between them.
Turner was considered America’s largest private landowner, with close to 2 million acres across his properties–however, he was later surpassed by his fellow media mate John Malone, the chairman of Liberty Media, who accumulated over 2.2 million acres in 2011.
At the time of his death, Turner had a net worth of around $2.6 billion–a large portion which had been invested into properties across the U.S., including his beloved ranch in Bozeman, Montana, where he spent his final years.
The future of Turner’s ranches
“Turner’s happiest moments were spent on his lands where he claimed to have felt most at home, surrounded by his bison, as well as numerous other animal and plant species,” notes his website.
“For instance, he found solace fly fishing on his ranches in Montana during the summer months; quail hunting and fishing in the fall and winter on his southeastern properties in Georgia and Florida; and spending early to late spring on his properties in New Mexico which are part of the Ted Turner Reserves portfolio of nature tourism destinations.
“In an effort to protect the habitats of the species living on his lands, some of which are imperiled or endangered, and to conserve the biodiversity of his properties, Turner founded the Turner Endangered Species Fund in 1997.”
The company states that Turner had been taking steps before his death to ensure that his ranches will “continue to be protected,” with all future development and subdivisions of the properties limited.
Turner has owned “personal and ranch land in eight U.S. states” before passing away, according to his website, and purchasing his “first bison in 1967 and his first ranch in 1987.”
Over the years, Turner has dedicated all of his ranches to bettering the environment, with the website stating: “All of the Turner ranches feature one or more of the following: bison ranching, commercial hunting or fishing and limited sustainable timber harvesting.
“Mr. Turner’s commitment to the environment is consistent with the management philosophy of his ranches and properties. The mission statement of Turner Enterprises, Inc. is ‘to manage Turner lands in an economically sustainable and ecologically sensitive manner while promoting the conservation of native species.’
The media pioneer was said to have carried around a list of “11 Voluntary Initiatives” in his wallet on which he made clear his commitment to sustainability, stating, “I promise to care for Planet Earth and all living things thereon, especially my fellow beings.”
Turner’s ranches are located in Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, including South Dakota–-however he mainly spent his remaining years on his 113,000-acre ranch in Bozeman, Montana.
According to its website, the Flying D Ranch, the property is described as offering a beautiful natural environment that includes “steep, forested land … rolling meadows … [and] high-rolling bench topography.”
Flying D was one of the two ranches that Turner owned in Montana—however, one of his largest properties was in Nebraska, where he owned five properties totaling around 450,000 acres.
According to CNN, Turner is credited with helping to “bring bison back from the brink of extinction,” and he later opened a chain of Ted’s Montana Grill restaurants, where he served the meat bred from his ranches. The outlet reports that there are currently 40 of these restaurant chains in 16 states across the U.S.
Born in Ohio, but raised primarily in Savannah, Georgia, where his family moved when he was 9, Ted Turner attended Brown University where he was expelled, returning to the South where he began purchasing radio stations—before turning to TV and then sports.
Four years before launching CNN, in 1976, Turner bought the Atlantic Braves before buying the Atlanta Hawks the following year, using his TV stations to broadcast their games.
Although, it was his launch of CNN, becoming the first-ever 24-hour news network, set Turner’s status as one of the country’s most prominent media giants, and saw him named as TIME’s Man of the Year in 1991.
“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” CNN CEO Mark Thompson stated.
In the early 2000s, Turner began shying away from television–-and media—to focus more on his efforts for philanthropy, and environmentalism, a passion he shared with his ex wife, Jane Fonda, during their ten year marriage.
After his divorce from Fonda, Turner confessed that he was left devastated and reportedly lost $7 billion–claiming it was a very difficult time during his professional life. Yet, the two remained close, appearing alongside charity events together and speaking on the phone regularly.
“I lost Jane. I lost my job here. I lost my fortune, most of it. Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize,” Turner told Piers Morgan during a 2012 interview.
During an interview on CBS Sunday Morning at his Bozeman estate in 2018, Turner revealed he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder that affects a person’s memories, including their cognitive functions–and is considered fatal.
During the interview, he told the network that he was grateful to have not been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, although he conceded that he was experiencing some difficult symptoms, saying: “[I’m] tired. Exhausted. That’s the main symptoms, and forgetfulness.”
