Former Atlanta Braves owner and CNN founder Ted Turner has died at the age of 87. He had suffered from the degenerative disease Lewy body dementia for many years. “Ted was a giant on whose shoulders we stand, and today we will all take a moment to recognize him and the impact he had on our lives and the world,” CNN Worldwide Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement.
However, the billionaire’s death has only heightened interest in his massive estate and will. On Saturday, reports emerged that none of Turner’s money will go to his five children.
According to Forbes, Ted Turner was worth $2.8 billion at the time of his death. The 87-year-old is considered the fourth-largest individual landowner in the United States, with about 2 million acres. However, the majority of his wealth is expected to be spent on environmental and philanthropic causes, RadarOnline.com exclusively reports.
Turner has publicly stated over the years that he intends to donate the majority of his wealth to causes related to natural resource conservation, wildlife protection and clean energy.
Family reportedly understood Turner’s plan
Turner is survived by his five children: Laura, Teddy, Rhett, Beau and Jennie Turner, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. However, sources close to the family told RadarOnline that the billionaire has long made it clear that his fortune will not simply become a traditional inheritance.
“Ted always believed the money had a greater purpose. His children grew up knowing that conservation and philanthropy were more important to him than dynastic wealth,” a source close to the Turner family said.
Another insider added: “He wants his legacy to outlast cable TV or baseball. The fortune will always be used to support the environmental causes he spent decades working on.”
Turner donates billions
Even before Turner’s death, he had donated much of his wealth to global causes. The billionaire donated $1 billion to the United Nations during his lifetime, one of the largest charitable donations ever made by an individual at the time.
In his later years, Turner focused on conservation and land conservation efforts in the American West.
Turner reportedly spent much of his later years on his 113,000-acre ranch in Montana after revealing in 2018 that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.
Turner was born in Cincinnati in 1938 and had a difficult childhood due to his father’s alcoholism and violence.
After briefly attending Brown University, Turner joined the family billboard company and took over it at the age of 24 after his father committed suicide in 1963.
He later transformed a struggling Atlanta television station into the nation’s first national “superstation” and in 1980 founded CNN, the world’s first 24-hour television news network.
Beyond the media, Turner became a sports and cultural icon. His business empire eventually expanded into professional sports ownership with teams such as the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks.
