Ted Turner, the media mogul who launched CNN and transformed television news, died Wednesday at age 87. Surrounded by family, his death marks the end of an era in broadcasting and philanthropy.
Ted Turner died Wednesday, May 6, according to Turner Enterprises. He had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2018. The 87-year-old built his empire from a billboard company into Turner Broadcasting System, which included CNN, TNT and Cartoon Network.
Turner launched CNN in 1980 as the first 24-hour news network. It gained global attention during the 1991 Gulf War. He sold the company to Time Warner in 1996 for $7.3 billion but later regretted losing control.
Beyond media, Turner donated $1 billion to United Nations causes and became one of America’s largest landowners. He owned the Atlanta Braves, which won the World Series in 1995, and advocated for environmental conservation. President Donald Trump called him “one of the Greats of All Time.”
