NCS founder and so-called “Mouth of the South” Ted Turner has died at the age of 87, eight years after revealing that he had been identified with Lewy physique dementia.
News of Turner’s passing was first reported by the network that he launched in 1980, with an announcement shared by his firm, Turner Enterprises, noting that he was surrounded by his household and family members 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 read.
“He is survived by his five children—Laura Turner Seydel (Rutherford), Robert E. (Teddy) Turner IV (Blair), Rhett Turner, Beau Turner (Georgia), Jennie Turner Garlington (Peek), 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.”
The media magnate was thought-about a pioneer of recent information, having spent a majority of his profession working within the business, starting at the age of 24, when he took over his father’s billboard firm.
However, in his later years, Turner, who was beforehand married to actress Jane Fonda, turned his focus to a different nice ardour: ranches, shopping for up a reported 14 ranch properties throughout the U.S., together with a staggering 113,000-acre unfold in Montana, the place he’s understood to have spent lots of the years main as much as his demise.
In 2012, Turner spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his ardour for environmentalism, telling the outlet that he had amassed a staggering portfolio of 28 properties, 14 of which have been ranches with 55,000 bison between them.
Once upon a time, Turner was thought-about America’s largest non-public landowner, with near 2 million acres throughout his properties—though he was later exceeded by his fellow media mogul John Malone, the chairman of Liberty Media, who amassed round 2.2 million acres as of 2011.
At the time of his demise, Turner had an estimated internet value of round $2.6 billion—a big portion of which had been invested into properties throughout the U.S., which included his beloved ranch in Bozeman, MT, the place he’s understood to have been primarily based for a lot of of his remaining years.
“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,” his website notes.
“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 that are a part of the Ted Turner Reserves portfolio of nature tourism locations.
“In an effort to guard the habitats of the species residing on his lands, a few of that are imperiled or endangered, and to preserve the biodiversity of his properties, Turner based the Turner Endangered Species Fund in 1997. The Fund, which works carefully with all of Turner’s properties, has seen nice success in species such because the Desert Bighorn Sheep, Aplomado Falcon and the Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout.”
The company further notes that Turner had taken steps before his death to ensure that his ranches will “proceed to be protected,” with all future development and parcellation of the properties limited.
“At the time of his demise, Turner was additionally one of many largest non-public landowners within the United States with greater than two million acres,” it states. “The wellbeing of those properties and the species current on every was of utmost significance to Turner; due to this fact, Turner ensured that upon his passing, his lands will proceed to be protected, limiting future improvement and parcellation.”
According to Turner’s web site, he owned “private and ranch land in eight U.S. states” when he passed away, having purchased his “first bison in 1967 and his first ranch in 1987.”
Turner dedicated all of his ranches to bettering the environment, with the website noting: “All of the Turner ranches characteristic a number of of the next: bison ranching, business looking or fishing and restricted 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.’
“This philosophy permits pure processes to take priority, however nonetheless acknowledges the ‘hand of man.’ Turner Enterprises, Inc. strives for administration that’s each ecologically delicate and commercially sustainable.”
The media tycoon was stated to have carried round a listing of “11 Voluntary Initiatives” in his wallet on which he made clear his commitment to sustainability, with one point noting: “I promise to take care of Planet Earth and all residing issues thereon, particularly my fellow beings.”
Turner’s ranches are positioned in Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, and South Dakota—nevertheless, Variety notes that he “spent a great portion of his remaining years on his 113,000-acre ranch close to Bozeman.”
That property, which is known as Flying D Ranch, is described on its website as offering a beautiful natural environment that includes “steep, forested land … rolling meadows … [and] high-rolling bench topography.”
” habitat for quite a lot of native wildlife, the Flying D is residence to established populations of mule deer, white-tailed deer, Rocky Mountain elk, Rocky Mountain grey wolf, Shiras moose, pronghorn antelope, black bear, mountain lions and badgers, amongst others,” the outline continues.
“In addition to those species, golden and bald eagle sightings are made all through a lot of the 12 months.”
Flying D was one of two ranches Turner owned in Montana—however, his largest land holdings were in Nebraska, where he owned five properties totaling close to 450,000 acres.
Turner is credited, according to NCS, with helping to “carry bison again from the brink of extinction,” and he later opened a chain of Ted’s Montana Grill restaurants, where he served the meat reared on his ranches. The outlet reports that there are currently 40 of these venues operating in 16 states across the U.S.
The media mogul was born in Ohio but raised largely in Savannah, GA, where his family moved when he was 9 years old. He attended Brown University, but was later expelled, prompting a return to the South, where he began buying up radio stations—before pivoting to TV and then sports.
In 1976, four years before launching NCS, Turner bought the Atlanta Braves, before snapping up the Atlanta Hawks the following year, using his television stations to broadcast their games.
However, it was his launch of NCS, which became the first-ever 24-hour news network, that solidified 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 concerned and dedicated chief, intrepid, fearless and all the time prepared to again a hunch and belief his personal judgement,” NCS CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement.
“He was and always will be the presiding spirit of NCS. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”
However, in the early 2000s, Turner began to pivot away from television—and media—in order to focus his efforts on philanthropy and environmentalism, a passion he and his former spouse, Fonda, shared during their marriage, which lasted for 10 years, from 1991 until 2001.
Fonda was the last of Turner’s three wives; he had previously been married to Judy Nye from 1960 until 1964, then tied the knot with Jane Shirley Smith in 1965, before they divorced in 1988. Turner welcomed five children during his first two marriages.
After his split from Fonda, Turner admitted that he was left devastated by the end of the relationship—particularly as it came during a very difficult period in his professional life, during which he lost a reported $7 billion.
“I misplaced Jane. I misplaced my job right here. I misplaced my fortune, most of it. Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that should you economize,” he famously told Piers Morgan during a 2012 interview.
However, he noted that he and Fonda had remained close, regularly appearing at charity events together and even speaking on the phone frequently.
In 2018, during an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” at his Bozeman estate, Turner revealed that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder that affects a person’s memories and cognitive functions—and is considered fatal.
At the time, he told the network that he was grateful to have not been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, although he conceded that he he was experiencing some difficult symptoms, saying: “[I’m] drained. Exhausted. That’s the principle signs, and, forgetfulness.”
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