Ted Turner, a philanthropist, businessman and founder of the news site CNN, peacefully died at on May 6, 2026, at age 87, while surrounded by his family in one of his properties.
Turner was known for many significant aspects; he created businesses, donated millions to charities and has pushed through life despite many difficulties.
Born on November 19th, 1938, to Robert Edward Turner II and Florence Turner, Turner was sent to boarding school at the age of 4. His family moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to Savanna, Georgia, where his sister, Mary Jean, got sick and passed away a couple of years later.
“She was sick for five years before she passed away. And it just seemed so unfair because she hadn’t done anything wrong,” Turner said to CNN. “What had she done wrong? And I could not get any answers.”
Turner’s real enemy in his early years was his father, who disciplined him using belts. When he hadn’t liked how Turner chose Classics as his major, he cut off his tuition. His father later committed suicide after the effects of depression; due to being under the influence and having spent all his money on an extension for his company.
“He went against everything he taught me: ‘Be courageous and hang in there,’” Turner explained to CNN.
After this event, Turner had gotten sudden motivation, starting his media career at the age of 24. By 1970, Turner had branched his focus into television, where he wanted to create his own channel.
He bought a station called Channel 17. Turner did anything he could to boost the ratings for Channel 17. He played old sitcoms, hosted award shows himself and found success through all his hard work.
Channel 17 later blew up, making it the first superstation in America. He later bought the Atlanta Braves and Hawks to continue his TV campaign. His next goal was a 24-hour news program, which quickly delivered the latest information at all times. Thus, he started CNN, a news channel that he molded into his dream of a 24-hour news program.
After the success of CNN, he made another 24-hour broadcast called CNN 2, which was later renamed HLN. He was labeled The Man of the Year in 1991 and appeared on many magazines and even some TV shows.
In 1989, at the peak of Turner’s career, he had gone through two marriages and was still trying to find a partner before he found Jane Fonda. Both of them started dating that same year but never expected much from their relationship.
“At first they didn’t get along at all,” recalled Jimmy Carter, a past president of the United States. “In fact, they didn’t like each other. I heard this from both of them. It was months later before they decided to try again. And they evolved into one of the nicest romances that I’ve ever known about.”
They had stayed together for 10 years, becoming one of the most storied couples in the nation.
But they ended up splitting after 10 years, which left Turner devastated. Fonda had loved him that whole time, but Turner’s constant need to be together and his personality made her crave freedom more than their love.
“I would never love anyone like I love him,” Fonda said to CNN. “But I just couldn’t keep moving in his world, along the surface for the rest of my life. I knew that I would get to the end of my life and regret not doing the things that I also needed to do for me.”
Turner’s life fluctuated, from good to bad back and forth, so he felt lost. His company was bought, but that led to the largest failure in corporate history, losing $100 billion dollars. He lost his rights to the Hawks, the Braves and even Turner Broadcasting.
But even with all this misfortune, Turner still found positivity by donating $1 billion dollars to United Nations, spending half his fortune on charity.
He lived a happy and peaceful life until May 6, 2026, when he passed away in one of his mansions surrounded by his loved ones.
“Given his childhood,” Fonda recalled, “he should’ve become a dictator. He should’ve become a not nice person. The miracle is that he became what he is. A man who will go to heaven,” Fonda reassured to CNN.
