Media Mogul Ted Turner Leaves Behind a Massive Net Worth to His Family
The television mogul died at the age of 87 on May, 6, 2026.
Published May 6 2026, 1:13 p.m. ET
The founder of the cable channel station CNN, Ted Turner, died on May 6, 2026, and his fans want to know about his massive net worth following his death.
Ted was very wealthy due to his media mogul fortune, as he also founded the cable networks TBS, TNT, TCM, and the Cartoon Network.
The businessman was also the owner of several sports teams throughout his life, including the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Hawks, the Atlanta Thrashers, and World Championship Wrestling (the WCW).
Another interesting tidbit about Ted, he was also once married to movie star Jane Fonda. So, how much was the media mogul worth at the time of his death?
Ted Turner, Jane Fonda, and Clint Eastwood.
Ted Turner's net worth is massive.
Ted was born Nov. 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, but the family moved to Savannah, Georgia, when Ted was a child. He attended Brown University, but he was reportedly expelled for sneaking a girl into his dorm room.
Ted moved to Atlanta and began working as an account executive for his father's company.
Robert Edward Turner III (Ted Turner)
Founder of TNT, TBS, CNN and Cartoon Network
Net worth: $2.8 billion
Birthdate: November 19, 1938
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
Education: Brown University
Married: Julia Gale Nye (div), Jane Shirley Smith (div), Jane Fonda (div)
Children: Laura, Teddy, Rhett, Beau, Jennie
Ted began building his fortune after his father died in 1963. He took over Turner Advertising, his dad's billboard company, and changed the name to Turner Broadcasting. In 1980, he founded the country's very first 24-hour news station, CNN.
According to Forbes, the CNN founder had a net worth of $2.8 billion at the time of his death.
Ted said that in the early days, he lived in an apartment above his office in Atlanta as he launched CNN and competed with the major broadcasting networks.
"I was going to have to hit hard and move incredibly fast, and that's what we did," he said, per PBS. "Move so fast that the networks wouldn't have the time to respond, because they should have done this, not me, but they didn't have the imagination."
In 1978, he began building TBS, and the network ran old shows such as The Andy Griffith Show, as well as old movies. He bought MGM in the 1980s and launched the Turner Classic Movies network, which broadcast old classic movies and earned him a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame back in 2004.
Ted Turner was also known for his philanthropy.
Ted was also a philanthropist who donated $1 billion to the charities of the United Nations.
He was married three times — he married Julia Gale Nye in 1960, and they had two children, Laura and Teddy, before divorcing in 1964. Ted married Jane Shirley Smith in 1965, and they had Rhett, Beau, and Jennie before divorcing in 1988.
He later married 9 to 5 star Jane Fonda in 1991, and they divorced in 2001.
The media mogul was unmarried at the time of his death, and his fortune likely will be passed on to his children.