Ted Turner Biography

Fast Facts

• Is the chairman of the Turner Foundation, which supports environmental protection efforts and sustainable energy
• Has also founded the Turner Endangered Species Fund and the Nuclear Threat Initiative and is a supporter of the United Nations Foundation
• Has been responsible for building large-scale solar power projects across the country in partnership with Southern Company
• Was named TIME Magazine's Man of the Year in 1991 and won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Overseas Press Club in 2012
• Started out as an account executive at the Turner Advertising Company and joined the television industry in 1970 by acquiring an independent UHF Atlanta channel
• Founded two independent film production companies: Ted Turner Pictures, which produced the film "Gods and Generals," and Ted Turner Documentaries, which produced "Avoiding Armageddon․"
• Best known as a media mogul and philanthropist who founded the news network CNN
• Launched the Turner Broadcasting System Superstation in 1976 and created CNN, the world's first 24-hour live news network, in 1980
• Created the animated series "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" with executive producer Barbara Pyle in 1990
• Is the owner of the Ted's Montana Grill restaurant franchise, the first of which he opened in Columbus, Ohio in 2002