Ted Turner, Whose CNN Pioneered 24-Hour TV News, Dies at 87 (3)

May 6, 2026, 3:18 PM UTC

Ted Turner, the swashbuckling billionaire who founded CNN, the first 24-hour news channel in the world, and turned his company into one of the biggest US cable-television systems before selling it to Time Warner Inc., has died. He was 87.

He died on Wednesday, CNN reported, citing a news release from his company, Turner Enterprises. He had announced in 2018 that he was suffering from Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder, and largely disappeared from public life after that.

WATCH: Eric Zinterhofer, founding partner of Searchlight Capital, talks about the legacy of Ted Turner. Source: Bloomberg

Few media tycoons had a more tumultuous and varied career, or pursued their passions ...

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