Ted Turner

Robert Edward Turner III is an American media proprietor, producer, and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the Cable News Network, the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television, which later became TBS.

When Turner was 12, he worked for his father’s billboard company, Turner Advertising.

After his father died in 1963, he took control of the business, then rebranded the firm as Turner Broadcasting.

He sold Turner to Time Warner for $7.3 billion in stock in 1996 and, after Time Warner bought AOL in 2001, saw his fortune tumble as shares dropped.

Turner is America’s second-largest individual landowner, with roughly 2 million acres. He also owns 51,000 bison and ranches in Argentina.

Turner, a Giving Pledge signee, chairs the Turner Foundation Inc, which is dedicated to protecting and restoring America’s natural environments.