CNN Founder Ted Turner Dead at 87

Media mogul and CNN founder Ted Turner has died after battling dementia.

Turner Enterprises announced Ted died Wednesday morning. Back in 2018, he announced he'd been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. That announcement came shortly after his 80th birthday.

In addition to launching the world's first 24/7 news channel, the Cable News Network, in 1979 ... Ted created a media empire that included TBS Superstation, TNT, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, and at one time, most of MGM Studios' film library.

The billionaire entrepreneur -- who got his media start in advertising -- is credited with shaping cable TV ... and most of the channels he launched remain staples today in your basic cable offerings.

Turner eventually merged his massive media holdings with Time Warner.

Nicknamed the "Mouth of the South," Ted also bought the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks in the early 1970s, and later World Championship Wrestling. He also won the America's Cup yachting race in 1977, which landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated that year.

He famously married Jane Fonda in 1991, before divorcing 10 years later. He'd been married two times before that -- to Julia Nye and Jane Shirly Smith -- and had 5 children, 14 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson said, “Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement. He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”

While he'll certainly be remembered as a media pioneer, Ted also cared deeply about conservation, an owned ranches in New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma and other states. He used the swaths of land to raise more than 50,000 bison, and here's a fun fact -- it's the world's largest privately owned herd.

Turner was also known for his philanthropy, and in 2010, became one of the tycoons who joined the Giving Pledge ... promising to donate the majority of his billions to charity when he died.

Turner was 87.